


Take a Trip into My Garden

by chrysanthemum_red



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Hosie, Slow Burn, Temporarily Unrequited Love, lots of pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:01:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 94,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25130557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chrysanthemum_red/pseuds/chrysanthemum_red
Summary: It started with a tickling sensation crawling up her throat.Josie assumed she was just coming down with a cold when her throat felt sore and her lungs heavy. When she watched Landon and Hope, reunited once again, she thought the tightness in her chest was merely teenage angst that will fade in time.But, she wasn’t expecting this.Or, the Hanahaki Disease AU that got way out of hand.
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson & Josie Saltzman, Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 199
Kudos: 716





	1. Part I: In Bloom

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, virgin fic writer here! This is my own twist on the Hanahaki Disease AU with Hosie and everything written is completely fictional. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy and happy reading~ 
> 
> (TW: There is mentions of blood and vomiting)

Josie is hiding away in the library, nose-deep in a book on the lores and legends throughout magical history, when she hears the swing of a door and familiar voices. Lifting her head up, she sees Hope and Landon walking in hand-in-hand, whispering sweet nothings to each other as they enter the library. Landon is holding Hope’s books and Hope is looking at him fondly, smiling radiantly at the boy—an adoring and genuine smile that has been missing from the tribrid’s face in a long time. A smile that reaches to Hope’s mesmerizing blue eyes, so beautiful that they never fail to steal Josie’s breath away—

_Ouch._

Josie winces in pain and massages her throat. There’s this piercing and throbbing pain—something clawing its way up Josie’s throat and squeezing her lungs in the process. 

Josie touches her head to check if she was warm and if the lump in her throat was a sign of a fever. But she's not burning up. Josie starts to think that maybe she should brew herself some herbal tea and a soothing potion to boost her immunity before she went to bed tonight. 

“Hey, Josie.” Josie is startled from the growing listicles in her head and looks up to see Landon and Hope, hands intertwined, standing across from Josie. 

Josie swallows the lump down her dry throat, “Hey, Landon.” She greets him softly and then nods to Hope in acknowledgement, unable to form words without this piercing sensation in her throat. 

“Josie,” Hope says her name with velvety intonations that has Josie slightly trembling. The older girl then  leans down to look at the book Josie is reading and suddenly they are face to face. Josie can feel the soft exhales of Hope’s breath on her skin and the smell the soft spritz of floral perfume on her neck—the sudden proximity between them sends Josie’s heart in a stutter. 

“I see you’ve been hiding in the library reading…Myths, Legends, and Lores?” 

Josie hasn’t been this close to the two since Landon dumped her a week ago and went running back to profess his love to Hope immediately after. She can’t blame him. Because when her memories of Hope returned, so did every ounce of emotion Josie felt for the redhead. Josie was flooded with images of Hope that made her feel raw at the end of the montage of memories that played in her mind. 

In a split second, Josie remembered who Hope was: Hope Mikaelson, nature’s loophole and one of the most powerful witches that walked this Earth. But, more importantly, Josie also remembered who Hope was to _her:_

Hope Mikaelson, the girl Josie had a massive crush on that sent Josie burning down Hope’s room and personal belongings just because of a silly love note. Hope Mikaelson, the girl who annoyingly poked at Josie instead of admitting she was lonely and Josie who poked back because she wanted nothing more for Hope to pay attention to her—to notice her. Hope Mikaelson, the girl that fiercely believed in Josie like none other and always found Josie in her darkest moments to protect and hold her—the girl who gave her a charmed necklace on her birthday that allowed Josie to _finally_ be heard. 

Hope Mikaelson, the girl that Josie is irrevocably in love with. 

The only reason Landon and Josie gravitated towards each other was because they both knew there was a gaping void in their chest that formed when Hope no longer existed. Without Hope, Landon and Josie fell together because of this intense love that was suddenly missing and needed to be placated by someone who felt similar. 

Josie knew when she remembered who Hope was that she couldn’t deny it any longer. This love she felt for Hope was her _epic_ love that her mom spoke of. 

Right now, though, Hope’s epic love is Landon and Josie can’t take that away from Hope. Hope deserves all the love in the universe. 

Because of this, Josie has been avoiding the couple and the rest of the group. She can’t let her angsty pining bring everyone down in this rare moment of peace and happiness. 

Josie just needs time to adjust her emotions and stifle away these intense feelings for Hope. She can never be the one to destroy Hope’s happiness, so she’ll keep quiet and bury her—

Josie starts to cough violently. Her throat feels like it’s on fire and her lungs are squeezed tight—an invisible rope tightly wound around them, cutting off her air supply. 

“Josie? Are you okay?” Hope attempts to rush forward to aid Josie, to comfort her, but Josie stops her by raising her hand while coughing in the other. 

Josie, hunched over, coughs forcefully once more and…and something comes out of her mouth. Looking into the palm of her hand, Josie stares down at a bloody petal. Instantly, Josie crushes the petal in her hand before anyone notices.

“You don’t look so good, Josie. Let me walk you to—“ 

“I’m fine, Hope," Josie quickly interjects and immediately moves to gather her things. "I have to go.” She hastily brushes past Hope and Landon and makes her exit out of the library, not looking back at Hope's plea for Josie to wait. 

Josie doesn’t stop moving until she’s in her room and the door is securely shut behind her. She leans against the door and tries to calm her heavy breaths and racing heart down. Opening the palm of her hand is a crushed white petal speckled with Josie’s blood.

_What. The. Hell._

* * *

The next day, Josie decides to skip her classes and opts to stay inside her room and away from everyone in fear that whatever she might have could be contagious. Thankfully, her dad and Lizzie don’t prod her too much and leave her alone to rest. She spends the majority of the day in her room, drinking tea to sooth her still aching throat, and a book in her lap on magical inflicted diseases. 

But, by noon, flower-free, Josie assumes it was all in her head or some sort of side-effect of a spell gone wrong. 

Josie jumps when she hears an unexpected knock on her door.  “Josie?” 

_Hope._

Josie scrambles out of bed, nearly tripping on her own two feet, and moves to open the door—not without taking a quick look in the mirror first and padding down her unruly bed hair. 

Josie takes a deep breath and opens the door. “Hope, uh, hey..." Josie stutters awkwardly and she immediately wishes she just stayed wrapped up in her burrito blanket because words are apparently failing her right now. 

“I brought, uh, soup,” Hope says and awkwardly holds out a container of hot soup before Josie. Josie reaches out for the container and her hands brush against Hope’s and, suddenly, the throbbing pain in her throat returns.

“Thanks, Hope,” Josie manages to croak out. 

Hope nods, “Of course. Any time.” The tribrid looks Josie up and down and then playfully smirks. “Nice, pajamas.” Josie looks down and is mortified to see that she still has her excessively colorful unicorn pajamas still on. 

“Oh, god. I wasn’t expecting anyone today,” Josie groans out in embarrassment and now she really, really, wishes she just stayed wrapped up in her blanket. 

Hope laughs and Josie latches onto the sound and notes how beautiful it is. “They’re cute. It looks cute on you.” Josie feels her cheeks grow hot at the compliment and bites her lip, trying not to be so blatantly smitten for Hope. “How are you feeling by the way?”

“Better, I think. But I’m sure your soup,” Josie lifts the lid of the container to let the delicious aroma of the soup fill her nostrils, “which smells fantastic, will help me to swift recovery.”

Hope shrugs and smiles softly at Josie. “I hope it helps. Landon and I tried replicating my mom’s recipe and…” Josie goes stock still and tunes out at the mention of Landon. _Landon and I._ Landon who is in love with Hope and vice versa. There’s a coiling in Josie’s stomach and she can feel pressure building. 

“…and we really miss you and I really want to go back to being best friends again—“ Hope stops, probably noticing how pale Josie suddenly looks. “Josie, are you okay?” Hope brings her hand to touch Josie’s forehead and suddenly Josie feels like she’s on fire. 

Josie shakes her head and brushes Hope’s hand away from her. “I’m fine. It’s fine, Hope. Thanks for the soup. I—I have to go. Sorry.” Josie closes the door on Hope before the older girl could say anything else. Josie drops the soup, letting it fall and spill all over the hardwood floor, and rushes to the bathroom and lunges for the toilet. Josie gags and gags until finally the pressure in her lungs coalesce and then swarms up her throat and is expelled into the toilet bowl. 

Josie coughs and coughs into the toilet, her eyes scrunched up in pain. When the pain finally subsides, she stares at the toilet bowl filled with white flower petals and blood. 

“What’s happening to me?” Josie, shaking violently, stumbles away from the toilet and breaks down. She hugs her knees and cries into them—her heart hurts and her lungs feel as if they’re being punctured. Every breath feels as if she were being cut open.

_Everything Hurts._

* * *

Josie scours every medical, magical, and mythical book in the library the next day, trying desperately to find an answer to this strange phenomenon that is happening to her. And she thought the awkward phases of puberty as a young siphoner was already crazy enough, but puking out flowers? Now, that’s a whole new level. She can’t tell anyone about this either without the fear of passing whatever is happening to her onto someone else or coming off as a complete lunatic. So, Josie needs to figure this out ASAP. 

The day fades away and Josie doesn’t even notice how dimly lit the library is, her eyes are sore and dry from the multitude of dense texts she processed today. Just as she was about to give up, Josie eyes stumble upon something. There is a slight breeze in the library and the pages in the book start to turn on their own. When the pages stop, Josie finds herself paralyzed at the sight of an ancient silk painting of a cherry blossom blooming from the open mouth of a woman. The description beneath the image reads: 

_The disease of unrequited love:_

“Hanahaki Disease.” Josie whispers. 

_The Hanahaki Disease is an ancient lore of a woman who was tragically in love with a man who was arranged to marry another woman from a neighboring village. Her love for him, a love that was so pure and strong, manifested itself into a flower that blooms from inside of her. But, because her love was one-sided, the blooming flower inflicted a great deal of pain onto the woman—she was burdened with the unbearable pain of retching bloody flower petals. Despite the man never returning her love and marrying the woman in the neighboring village, the woman’s love only grew stronger like the flower blooming within her. At the end of this tragic love story, the woman dies with a fully bloomed cherry blossom spilling out of her mouth—her love for the man was immortal, but she herself was all too human. Like her unrequited love for him, she was overfilled by flowers and was suffocated until her dying breath._

Josie flipped the page and found nothing else left to be said about the disease. “Wait. That can’t be it!” 

Josie flips the pages desperately for more information on the disease and her current predicament. She keeps flipping and flipping, but nothing. Josie wrings her hands in her hair, frustrated beyond belief. She slouches against the chair and huffs loudly in the empty library. 

"I don't know even know what I'm looking for. I'm just wasting my time with all these stupid books that aren't telling me anything!" All of a sudden, the lights in the library begin to flicker and a harsh breeze travels in the building and there is resounding thud that startles Josie. 

"Hello?" Josie hesitantly gets up, a little spooked since no one else was supposed to be in the library but her. Siphoning the magic from the school wall, Josie weaves through aisles of bookshelves looking for the perpetrator of the sound, hoping that it's a student and not another monster _._

_Maybe I've been in the library too long._ Josie rubs her eyes and is about to call it a night when she hears another thud, but this time closer. She quickly follows the sound and is ready to fight whatever or whoever it is she finds, but what she finds instead is a lone book on the ground in the mythology and classics section of the library. Josie kneels down and picks up the book: It is a leather-bound journal with a cherry blossom tree etched on the cover. She opens to the first page of the book with only a dedication: _For The Hearts Who Broke in the Name of Love._ Josie shoves the book into her handbag and hastily proceeds to leave the library. 

Once in the comfort of her room, Josie opens the text to the first entry and starts to read: 

_1410 A.D., China_

_It began with a prickling sensation creeping up my throat…_

* * *

Josie wakes to the sound of her alarm and promptly shuts it off, groaning at the red numbers blinking 6:30 AM at her.

She barely had 3 hours of sleep since she spent the majority of the night reading the journal under the covers with a floating ball of light illuminating the passages—a Luminescence Spell Josie learned when she was young because she wanted to stay up reading but Lizzie was unable to sleep with the lights on. Josie sits up, hair in complete disarray, and glances at the bed across from her where her twin was sleeping soundlessly and completely unaware of the impending doom Josie was faced with. 

From the passages Josie read from the journal so far, Josie can tell the Hanahaki Disease is a grim one with no known cure. After every entry, the anonymous author provided a note of the date of the person’s death and the cause of it being the Hanahaki Disease—a magical disease that seems to affect only the supernatural. 

Josie rubs tiredly at her eyes. “Death because of unrequited love,” Josie thumps her head against the headboard. “How much more melodramatic can my life get?” Out of all the ways to die? Death by flowers just because Josie is incomprehensibly and, as her newfound disease shows, fatally in love with Hope Mikaelson. 

From what she read, Josie concluded a few things about the disease: 

  1. It affects only those of supernatural and mythical lineage 
  2. Those who experience a great love, but it is not returned, are susceptible to the disease
  3. It’s always flowers that will kill you from the inside—the type of flower varies per person
  4. Most people with the disease die within 1-3 months
  5. There is no cure



Josie slumps back down and wraps wraps herself in another burrito blanket. She no intentions of leaving bed, or her room, anytime soon. She curls up into a ball and starts to cry herself back to sleep. How can this love be so great if she has to die and leave everyone she loves behind? 

* * *

Hours later, Josie wakes up to the sound of the door being forced open.

Lizzie walks in and plops a mountain of shopping bags on the ground. “Okay, Josie, I let you pout and sulk away long enough.” Josie peers to look at the time to see it was a quarter past 3. She must’ve slept through the day and Lizzie must have left early without her to go on her weekly Saturday shopping haul—although, Josie vaguely remembers her twin prodding her incessantly earlier to get her to wake up. The same way Lizzie was currently trying to do now.

Can’t she just sulk for a little longer? 

Josie pulls the covers over head and mutters for her sister to leave her alone. 

Lizzie huffs dramatically, “Josette, it’s time to get over the stupid muppet and spend some quality time with your favorite twin.”

Josie rolls her eyes, still refusing to come out of her safe and warm covers. “You’re my only twin, Lizzie.” She also doesn’t correct Lizzie in her assumption that it’s Landon she’s still pining over. Josie wishes, maybe then she wouldn’t have this disease. 

“It’s time to get back out there and—Josie, why are there flower petals on your floor?” Lizzie stops her tirade to finally notice the array of flowers that Josie coughed up on the floor. _Crap._ Josie forgot that she had coughed out a few more petals last night as her stupid brain was overloaded with idyllic images of Hope. Josie snuggles further into her cocoon, not knowing exactly how to tell her twin that she’s puking out flowers. In a swift motion, Lizzie rips the blanket from Josie and throws it on the ground. 

Josie sits up in annoyance and glares at her twin, “Lizzie!” 

“You’re wearing those gaudy pajamas!” Lizzie gasped. “I know you like to shit the rainbow and all, but this is seriously damaging to the eyes.” Josie crosses her arms. _Rude._ Hope thought it was cute on her. “I left you alone too long,” Her twin whispers deadly. “You bought yourself flowers…” Well, that’s one way to avoid the puking flower disease talk right now. “…and now you’ve lost your decently mediocre sense in fashion! This is worse than when you broke things off with the devil spawn isn’t it?” Lizzie starts to swat at her in attempt to make Josie leave bed. 

“Lizzie, stop!” Josie growls and Lizzie ends up shoving Josie aside to make enough room for her to lay down on the bed next to her. 

Lizzie turns to face Josie with a stern glare. 

“I can feel your pain, Josie.” Lizzie sighs softly, reminding Josie the psychic connection the two shared. Josie just hopes Lizzie doesn’t feel the full effect of her pain—the emotional and physical exhaustion from regurgitating flowers nearly every hour or so. “He’s an idiot, you know?” Josie turns to face her sister and they’re now on their sides, face to face. “Letting you go for—

“For Hope.” Josie voice scratches. “He was in love with her before the whole memory swiping thing. You can’t make a love like that go away.” Josie should know. “And he makes Hope happy.” That’s all Josie really cares about. Hope’s happiness. 

“But you’re sad.” Lizzie pouts. 

“I am,” Josie admits and her twin wraps her arms around her in comfort. “But I’ll be fine.” Well, not completely fine. You know, with the flower growing inside of her ready to lead her to her inevitable death because she’s in love with Hope. 

“You will be now that I’m here!” Lizzie gets off the bed and pulls Josie up with her. She bops Josie’s nose and wears a triumphant and determined smile. “We’re going to get you back on the right track and over that hobbit in no time!”

Josie watches her twin warily as Lizzie rummages through one of the shopping bags and pulls out a blouse and flings it at Josie. 

Josie notices it’s a red blouse with white cherry blossoms patterns. “What do you want me to do with this?” 

“I want you to take off those horrible pajamas and wear it.” Lizzie scrunches up her nose. “But shower first because you reek.” 

Josie rolls her eyes and sighs, “Why do I need to wear this? What are you planning?” 

“First, after we freshen you up, we are going to do some sisterly bonding by getting mani-pedi’s. Then we will go to the hipster cafe you like and visit that decaying musty bookstore you like to wander in.” Josie felt her heart soar at the affection and attention her sister was giving her just to make Josie feel better. 

“Surprisingly, I like this plan.” Josie was definitely onboard. 

“And then our last stop is Jed’s bonfire party by the Old Mill.” 

Scratch that. Josie jumped ship.

“Spoke too soon," Josie sighs.  "I am not going to Jed’s bonfire party and be surrounded by toxic alpha males with frail egos all night.” Especially when Josie could be spending her time figuring out how to cure herself from this all-consuming fatalistic love disease. 

Lizzie puts her arms on her hips. “You. Are. Going.” 

Josie drops the blouse on the floor and plops back down on her bed. She crosses her arms and returns the death glare Lizzie is directing at her. “No. I’m. Not.” 

* * *

So, Josie went. 

The party is in full swing and there's some repetitive pop music playing on the speakers while students from Salvatore do keg stands and play beer pong. 

And…Josie really wants to leave.

She’s leaning against a tree and sipping some stale beer MG thrusted at her before whisking Lizzie away to play beer pong. Lizzie gagged at the idea, but she went regardless and left Josie alone. Josie needed some space to think anyway. 

While she was only on the third day with this disease, she knew she needed to act sooner than later. There were moments today where she had to find excuses to run to the bathroom, somewhere private and away from Lizzie, just to expel the lumps of flower pushing up against her throat. Lizzie was so sure that Josie was heartbroken over Landon that she veered from talking about him and spoke about Hope and their renewed friendship status (frenemies, according to Lizzie). 

She ranted about Hope nearly blowing up the class during a potions lesson because she was distracted. But the potion only combusted on Hope and left her with her hair sticking up like a mad scientist—according to the mental picture Lizzie painted. Just the thought of it made Josie think of how adorable Hope must've looked which then proceeded to Josie needing to chug down water and forcefully, and painfully, push down the petals. Lizzie also told Josie about Hope and the Super Squad eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner together. This makes Josie both happy and sad. Happy because Hope finally is accepting the love and support of their family of friends. Sad because Josie wasn’t there to be part of it and watch Hope be showered in the love she deserves. 

Nevertheless, Josie can’t escape Hope. She sees the auburn tribrid everywhere: it's in the smell of beignets, the paintings she saw in the gallery, and even the puppies in the pet store display...because you know, Hope being part wolf and all. 

The point is, Josie can’t get Hope out of her mind.

“On a scale of one to ten, how badly do you want to leave?” Speak of the devil. Josie turns to see Hope beside her with her arms crossed, red solo cup in one hand, with a sheer look of boredom. The tribrid is wearing dark blue jeans and a long black cardigan covering a white crop top. Her hair is down, vibrantly red against the night sky and illuminated by the glow of the bonfire. Josie thinks she looks effortlessly beautiful. 

Hope inches closer to Josie, shoulders barely touching. But an electrifying brush of contact with Hope, nonetheless.

“I’m guessing Lizzie forced you into coming?” 

Josie nods. “And who forced you?” 

“Landon,” Hope exhales loudly. “He wanted things to feel like they’re back to normal.” 

Josie purses her lips. “Is it?” Hope turns to look at Josie. “Back to normal?”

Josie watches as Hope takes a long sip of the alcohol from her cup. “When have things ever been normal in our lives?” Hope deflects and takes another long sip of her drink, Josie mirroring the action. There’s an awkward lull, an audible gulp of bitter alcohol, before Hope plucks the courage to break the silence. “I want it to be like before I jumped into Malivore…but it can’t.” Hope surprisingly admits. “Things happened and…because of my actions people got hurt.”

“Because of your actions people are alive.” Josie quickly counters. 

Hope is silent for a moment and Josie can hear Hope gulping down her drink some more for liquid courage. “I had hurt people…I hurt you, Josie, and I took Landon—“ Josie turns her eyes away from Hope and she knows what Hope is about to say. 

Josie doesn’t want to hear it. 

“Stop. Just don’t, okay.” Josie angrily cuts off Hope and she notices the look of shock across Hope’s face. “I made my decision and I knew what I was doing. Bringing everyone’s memories back…there was no questioning it.” 

“But you got hurt because of it. I never meant to hurt you. I was okay with no one remembering me—” 

“Don’t say that.” Josie cuts off Hope fiercely, a slight quiver in her voice as she exhales shakily. _How could Hope think that it’s okay to be forgotten?How could she think that I wouldn’t want her in my life?_

“Forgetting you hurt more.” Josie confesses and she feels Hope stiffen beside her. She turns to face Hope, tamping down her emotions just enough to get the next few words out. “Landon and I…we were just filling a void that you left behind when you vanished from our lives and memories,” Josie swallowed, her throat dry. Josie can see the tears shimmering in those ocean blue eyes and Josie can’t help herself, so she reaches out and grabs Hope’s hand and interlocks them. 

Josie tries not to be overwhelmed about how well their hands fit together. She brushes her thumb across soft skin and tries to memorize the sensation. 

“Everyone knew something was missing. The moment you came back in our lives, even though we didn’t remember you, everything felt whole again.” Josie huffs. “it was really annoying to not know who someone is and yet feel instantly connected.” 

Hope lets out a watery chuckle, her hand squeezing onto Josie’s. “You hated me. You literally tried to tackle me, Josie.” Josie groans at the memory of the game where she was supposedly “jealous” because of how Landon was looking at her. But she knew it wasn’t that. She knew it was because there was this beautiful girl that her boyfriend was suddenly smitten with and Josie was equally as smitten. She was angry that a stranger could evoke such strong feelings in her that plucked at her heartstrings. Landon was right when he said that Josie was the one who was off that day and subconsciously she knew the reason why. Unbeknownst to Josie at that time, she was _hopelessly_ in love with this beautiful fiery woman before her. 

“I didn’t hate you.” Hope scoffs, not believing Josie at all. How can Josie tell the tribrid that what she felt wasn’t _hate_? It was far from it. Everything she felt with Landon was magnified with one look at the redhead. The world spun once more when Hope came back and Josie felt as if she was spinning and falling off kilter…undeniably enamored by the girl. She is completely and utterly consumed by love for Hope. 

Obviously, she can’t say that. 

“Hope, I don’t hate you,” Josie squeezes Hope’s hand trying to convince the older girl. “I wouldn’t have returned everyone’s memories if I did.” 

Hope shakes her head. “You did it because you’re a good person, Josie. You’re one of the good ones.”

_I’m not good. I hate that you’re with Landon. I contemplated for days about bringing everyones memories back because I didn’t want you to be with him…I wanted you to be with me._

Josie wants to tell her. She wants to tell Hope how in love she is with her. But she sees Landon approaching from behind Hope and Josie is reminded once more how she just _can’t._ Hope is in love with Landon. _Not_ Josie. So she settles for giving Hope one last squeeze and whispers, 

“I did it because everyone here loves you, Hope. You’re meant to be here. You, Hope Mikaelson, belong here.” Hope looks down at her feet, cheeks a soft red, and lets out a shaky breath. 

_You belong here with me._ Hope swiftly lifts her head and stares at Josie with wide eyes. Did Josie say that out loud? But Landon interrupts them slurring Hope’s name and Josie pulls her hand from Hope’s grip and steps back to lean against the tree just as Landon wraps his arm around Hope from behind. 

Hope startles at Landon’s sudden touch and Josie notices the panic that flickers across Hope’s face and then watches as it melts to a soft adoration when she notices Landon. 

“Hey, am I interrupting something?” Landon smiles, cheeks flushed from the alcohol in his body.

Hope shakes her head and quickly wipes her tears away. “No, you weren’t.” Josie stomach churns and she watches Landon kiss Hope’s cheeks. “Josie and I were just having a chat.” 

Josie can feel the roots of her unrequited love strangling her on the inside. Suffocating her and screaming at her to let it out—to just _confess_ or let the flower bloom and kill her already. But Josie chugs down the stale lukewarm beer and tampers down the urge to spew flowers. 

“I’m going to get some more beer,” Josie smiles softly at Hope before walking away. 

As Josie walks away, she can feel the urge to cry and puke flowers intensify. Instead of finding another keg stand, she finds herself away from the crowded scene and leaning against another tree trying to calm herself down. Her heart feels as if it’s about to rupture with how tight her chest feels. 

“Josie, why are you brooding over here alone.” She turns around to see Lizzie, hair curled and outfit on point as usual, looking at her with a frown. “Come on, you said you would try. Just forget about Hope and Landon and come sit with me by the bonfire?” Josie is about to agree when she goes pale at the sight by the bonfire.

Across the bonfire, Josie sees Landon and Hope sitting on a log, huddled closely together. Rafael is sitting at the stump beside them and is regaling some wild story to Landon by the looks of his theatrical gestures. Hope is tucked in beside Landon and is looking at him with so much love in her eyes. MG and Kaleb join them and they all start an energetic conversation. Landon turns to see Hope staring at her and he mouths “I love you.” Josie’s bone feels heavy and her eyes start to sting. 

Her eyes are fixated on the way the fire illuminates Hope’s beauty, making her fiery red hair glow and the light sparks reflected in her blue eyes. In slow motion, Josie watches as Hope mouths, “I love you, too” and leans in to kiss Landon. 

“Josie?” 

Josie can feel the burn of her eyes and she can’t breathe. Oh god, she can’t breathe. Her body feels heavy and her stomach feels filled to the brim. 

She hears Lizzie’s faint call to her but Josie is overwhelmed by the sounds, the smells, and the overbearing clumps of flowers broiling in her esophagus. She needs to leave. Josie drops the empty cup onto the ground and turns around and runs into the woods, away from the party and Hope. She hears Lizzie in the distance shouting at her but Josie can’t stop. 

She can’t. It hurts. Oh, it hurts so much. Her insides twists and burns. Her body feels heavier the more she puts distance between her and Hope. But Josie can’t go back. She just can’t. She can’t watch him love her and can’t watch how Hope is so happy and in love while all Josie can think of is-

Josie drops on the ground. _I love her. I love her. I lover her._

_But she will never love me._

Josie hunches and hurls. She can taste the bile in her mouth and blood being expunged with petals of white flower. The pain burns from her lungs to her throat as she continues to violently release the flowers blooming inside of her. The ringing in her ears is so loud that she doesn’t hear Lizzie when she kneels down beside her. 

Lizzie is running her hand up and down Josie’s back, soothing and easing her pain. “How much did you drink, Jo?” With a final purge of flowers from her throat, Josie notices how Lizzie’s hand suddenly stops moving. 

“Josie…why are you puking flowers?” 


	2. Part I: Language of Flowers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the lovely comments and kudos! I'm glad people are enjoying this story. I'll do my best to post weekly, but know that they'll be long chapters to hopefully ail any suspense. 
> 
> (TW: mentions of blood and homophobia)

Josie is sitting at the edge of her bed, watching Lizzie pace back and forth in front of her with the Hanahaki journal in hand. It’s been an hour since they left the party and Lizzie strong-armed Josie into telling her what was going on. After convincing Lizzie that she did not drink a weird hallucinogenic tea, despite her twin being adamant that that was the cause, Josie wordlessly handed Lizzie the journal as evidence. Now the room is tense, stifling silent, with only the sounds of Lizzie haphazardly flipping pages to cut through it. Lizzie is sifting through the journal, skimming its contents and based on how fast she is turning the pages, Josie knows she’s not really reading them.

Josie jumps as Lizzie loudly slams the journal shut and tosses it onto the ground. Lizzie immediately stops pacing and turns on her heels to face Josie.

“Are you seriously telling me that you have a murderous flower growing inside you because you’re in love with Hope freaking Mikaelson?”

Josie gulps and slowly nods, trying to send calming emotions to her twin who is a hot pot of rage and fear at the moment.

“I thought you were head over heels for bird-boy? Were you not a crying mess when he broke up with you?” Lizzie presses Josie.

“I was never really _in_ love with Landon,” Josie shakes her head. “A part of me loved him, but that part of me was missing something—missing someone. He didn’t break my heart because my heart never belonged to him anyway,” Josie shrugs. “It was always, Hope.”

Lizzie points her finger at Josie. “You said it was a _crush.”_

“It was,” Josie proclaims and swats Lizzie’s judgmental finger away from her face. “But then my feelings for her just kept growing and…I didn’t even know that it was love until we regained our memories.” Josie folds her arms around herself, shivering at the reminder of what it felt like to be in a world where Hope didn’t exist. “When Hope was erased from our memories, I was lost, confused, and filled with so much anger and darkness. Then I casted the spell and it came rushing back to me—all those dark feelings went away and it was like the haze over my eyes were lifted.”

“What is it about stupid Hope Mikaelson that makes the world revolve around her?” Lizzie grumbles and plops herself next to Josie.

“Don’t pretend you don’t care about her.” Josie rolls her eyes at Lizzie. “I know you two bonded in your shared secrecy.”

“Hope and I’s brief bonding session in fighting the minotaur and the patriarchy has nothing to do with what’s going on with you, Jo. Hope doesn’t have a magical flower inside her trying to kill her, _you_ do,” Lizzie says fiercely. “I’m telling Dad.”

Her sister moves to make an exit, but Josie rushes up to block Lizzie from leaving. “You can’t tell Dad,” Josie pleads. “Not yet, at least.”

Lizzie throws her arms up in the air and cries, “Why not? You said that this thing is _killing_ you. This isn’t something we can fix on our own, Josie!”

“All Dad will do is lock me up and then you all will do something completely reckless trying to protect me! I can’t put any of you in danger. I’m the one with the disease and I’m the one who needs to figure it out.”

“Why am I surrounded by people with stupid martyr complexes?” Lizzie throws her head back and groans in frustration.

Josie grabs both of Lizzie’s hands, determined to convince her not to tell their dad. “I can _fix_ this, Lizzie. I just need more time to research it myself without worrying about getting everyone hurt.”

“Josie, you’re being ridiculous. What if you don’t find the cure and then it’s too late? What if…what if…” Josie shushes Lizzie who is on a verge of a panic attack and squeezes their hands tightly together.

“It won’t get that far,” Josie tries to reassure her sister. “I have three months to find answers before…before the worse happens.” Josie gulps, trying not to think about the end result if she doesn’t find a cure. “I need you to trust me, Lizzie.”

Josie watches as Lizzie closes her eyes and takes three deep breaths and then lets out a slow exhale. Lizzie opens her eyes and her shoulders droop with the tension leaving her body.

“Fine,” Lizzie relents. “But the moment I get a bad feeling, I’m telling Dad.” Josie nods in agreement and appeases Lizzie’s worries.

“I also demand that there be no secrets and I get to help with the research.”

Josie groans. Lizzie is the worst research partner ever.

“You _hate_ research duty. Especially when it involves old boring historical texts,” Josie counters.

“True, but if it means I can help you find the cure faster and we can put all the angst and pining behind us, I’m all for research.” Lizzie puts her hands on her hips and smiles confidently. “I’ll be the _best_ research partner you ever had.”

“No whining?”

“No whining,” Lizzie says with conviction.

* * *

“I’m so bored,” Lizzie whines and drops her head on the cool surface of the diner table.

Josie and Lizzie are at the Mystic Grill—managing to sneak out of the school while their dad was off playing Indiana Jones with Dorian. They’re in a booth in the back of the diner, hiding away from the judgmental and intrusive eyes of some of the small-town humans of Mystic Falls, with a pile of books splayed open on the table.

Lizzie sits up and plays with the straw in her milkshake and sloshes the chunk of ice-cream around distractedly. “Josie, my head hurts from how dry and convoluted these books are—I rather do the assigned readings for classes than this.”

“You don’t even do your readings for class. _I_ do them for you,” Josie mumbles.

“Why can’t we just _incendia_ the flower inside of you?”

“Because,” Josie whispers. “You can _incendia_ everything but the flower.” Lizzie scrunches her nose at the thought and then proceeds to ramble on about alternative, yet completely improbable, methods to remove the flower.

Josie does her best to ignore Lizzie’s ramblings and tries to focus in on the text in front of her. It’s been a week since Lizzie found out she was cursed with the Hanahaki Disease and despite having another pair of eyes to help her research, they’ve still managed to find nothing about the disease. At most, all they’ve found were ancient paintings from different parts of the world that show a woman or man with flowers stuffed in their mouths. But, all texts point the drawings to be merely a form of expressionism and nothing more—nothing of magical origin. The dead ends she and Lizzie keep reaching is beyond frustrating.

Thankfully, the past week she’s been nearly flower-free and Josie thinks she’s learned how to manage to keep the flowers down. A big part of it may be because she’s been actively avoiding Hope and Landon—watching them together seemed to be a reminder of Josie’s unrequited love and thus triggering her to start gagging and fleeing to find a toilet to puke some flowers in.

Hope, however, has been trying to talk to her. She finds the tribrid waiting for her outside of her classes, lurking in the library every time Josie’s there, and even waiting by her room. Josie’s managed to evade almost every encounter, especially with the help of Lizzie who has been adamant to keep Hope and Josie away from each other.

“Josie,” Lizzie snaps her fingers to get Josie’s attention. “We need a break or else I’m going to _literally_ combust if I have to read another word.” Lizzie waves her hand and magically closes all the books on the table, even the one Josie was currently reading.

“Lizzie,” Josie hisses. “You can’t be doing that here, remember?”

“Please, like anyone noticed.” Lizzie and Josie scan the place to see it nearly empty with a few patrons blathering away at the bar.

“Still, be careful,” Josie chides and sinks into her seat.

Lizzie flips her hair over her shoulder and picks at her nails. “Whatever. Can we ditch this rat-hole, please?”

“You said you wanted to help with research,” Josie rubs her temples in frustration. 

“And I still do. But, I also think we’ve been staring at these boring ass books for a week and at this point we’ll die from how much dust and funky old fumes we’ve inhaled.” Lizzie swipes her fingers one of the books and gathers an unhealthy amount of dust on her finger. Her twin gags and wipes her finger with a napkin.“We can go back to hardcore mundane research after we give our minds a much deserved break.” Josie wants to counter that Lizzie is being dramatic, but her twin makes a valid point. Josie has been pretty intense with the amount of books she’s been piling on their research.

“Okay, okay. You’re right.” Josie sits back into her seat and rubs her tired eyes. “Do you want to head back then?”

“No way.” Lizzie sits up straight. “This is the first time I got you to actually play hooky with me. No way are we going to waste the day away.”

“Alright, fine. What do you want to do then?” Josie begins to stuff the books in her oversized bag.

Lizzie practically buzzes in her seat as she claps her hands together. “There’s this new vintage boutique that I’ve been dying to check out. The couture collection they have is supposed to be totally in vogue.” Josie grabs the rest of the books, cradling them in her arms, as she and Lizzie walk out of the diner.

“I definitely will be buying a dress from them for our birthday party which, by the way, we need to talk about. I was thinking our theme this year could be—oh, hell no.”

Lizzie stops in place as they exit the grill and Josie bumps into her, books slipping out of her grasp and the heavy bag pulling her down.

She hears Lizzie march towards two familiar voices, leaving Josie on the ground with the sun scorching down on her.

Josie groans in pain, her back and shoulder aching from the fall, as she manages to sit up. She adjusts the annoyingly loose strap of her bag, books digging into her back, and starts to pick up the fallen books one by one. Josie moves to grab one of the books when a hand reaches out to grab it first.

“The Magical Properties of Flowers?” Kneeled in front of Josie is Hope, the girl she’s been actively avoiding all week, who is now picking up the rest of the books that Josie dropped. Hope stands up, holding a hand out to a speechless Josie.

Josie grabs Hope’s hand, such a small intimate gesture that manages to still have Josie’s heart in a fritz, and Josie stumbles her way back up on her two feet. Hope steadies her and Josie can’t help but blush at how close she is to Hope after physically distancing herself from the older girl all week.

“You’re not hurt are you?” Hope asks in concern.

“Uh, no,” Josie stutters. “I’m good.” She glances down to see that Hope is still holding her hand, not making a move to let go.

Josie relishes in the touch and feels a surge of affection and security emanating from the warmth of the tribrid’s grasp. She feels as if she was been touch-starved this whole week she avoided Hope and this simple touch is like a drop of rain during a drought. The moment is torn apart, however, Lizzie untangles their conjoined hands and pulls Josie behind her.

“Of course, she’s okay.” Lizzie grabs the books in Hope’s hand and stacks it upon the pile of books Josie is already holding. “Now what are you and this glorified muppet doing here?”

At the sound of an offended grunt, Josie finally notices Landon standing beside them with his hands buried deep in his back pockets.

“Hope and I were just having a nice coffee date here in town,” Landon says with a sheepish smile directed at Hope. “What are you guys doing here?” Josie feels a lump coagulating and the petals trying to push up her throat. She closes her eyes and slowly counts to ten, doing her best to block out all outside sounds and hones into just her breathing.

“That’s none of your business, Frodo,” Lizzie snarks.

“You know I actually have a name,” Landon says hotly.

“I know, I just said it.” Lizzie and Landon start to bicker and Josie is really trying to calm herself down, but all the sounds combined with their voices has her head is spinning and all she wants to do is purge the flowers from her body.

“Josie, are you okay?” Hope’s soft voice interrupts Josie’s counting and she opens her eyes to find concerned blue eyes piercing her soul. The serene shade of blue in Hope’s eyes has a calming effect on Josie and the dizziness stops as does the swelling pressure in her throat. Josie turns her head when she feels Lizzie grasp her forearm tightly, frightened and worried.

Josie finally manages to push the petals back down and clears her throat. “I’m fine,” her voice croaks. “I’m okay, really,” Josie addresses Lizzie specifically, feeling her twin loosening her grip. “I think that fall kind of winded me and I’m just a bit thirsty, that’s all.” Josie clears her throat one last time, the prickling sensation still lingering. 

Hope grabs the books out of Josie’s arms and Lizzie pulls the hefty bag off Josie’s shoulder and throws it at Landon, who nearly topples backward from the sheer weight of it.

“Here.” Hope offers her a glass of water from her table. “Drink this.” Josie gratefully takes the glass of water and drinks it. The coolness of the water eases the scratchiness of her throat and the pain starts to subside.

“Thank you.” Josie smiles and hands the glass of water back to Hope.

They all stand in awkward silence, Landon still struggling to keep the overfilled book bag in his arms in the background.

“What do you guys have in here? A boulder?” Landon grunts.

Lizzie glares at him, clearly not wanting him to talk, and then fixes her eyes on Hope. “Shouldn’t you be off monster-hunting with my dad or something?”

Hope crosses her arms and mimics Lizzie’s defensive stance. “Shouldn’t you two be in class?”

“Shouldn’t you and pigeon-boy?” Lizzie counters and Josie can feel the tension rising.

“Okay,” Josie breathes out and steps in. “It’s obvious we all ditched class today. Why don’t we all just promise to keep this our little secret?” Josie looks at Hope and Lizzie, who are still glaring at each other, but nod in agreement nonetheless. She moves to grab the bag from Landon and effortlessly throws it over her shoulder and grabs the rest of the books on the table.

“Lizzie and I will be on our way.” She elbows Lizzie to ease up. “You and Landon can,” Josie swallows thickly. “Resume your date.”

Hope chews at her lips for a moment, fingers tracing the rim of the glass cup, and then rushes to say, “Do you guys want to stay and join us?”

“What?” Landon and Lizzie simultaneously say in disbelief.

Hope ignores them and pointedly stares at Josie. “I—I don’t know. I have a lot of research to do—"

“On what? Maybe I can help?” Hope jumps in with a tinge of desperation in her voice. Why was Hope so desperate to get Josie to stay? “If it’s about flowers and magic, I know some things from my Aunt Freya.”

“I think Josie and I got this, Hope, so—" Lizzie tries to push Josie in the opposite direction but Josie doesn’t budge, the flash of rejection on Hope’s face cementing Josie to the ground. Hope’s sad puppy look makes Josie desperate to make it go away.

“Alright,” Josie decides. “Lizzie and I’ll join you, but just for a bit.” Lizzie is staring at Josie with a look of utter shock on her face.

“Great!” Hope looks relieved and instantly takes back the books out of Josie’s hands and the bag. Hope and Landon then push two tables together to make room for Josie and Lizzie, discreetly arguing. Landon was probably trying to convince Hope that this was a bad idea—Lizzie pulls Josie to side to do just the same.

“Are you insane?” Lizzie whispers harshly. “Why do you want to subjugate us—more importantly, _me,_ to this?”

“Hope might have a lead for us about what’s going on that we can’t find in the books,” Josie argues. “Plus, I feel bad for avoiding her all week.”

“You really want to crash the girl you’re in love with and your ex’s date?” No, Josie really doesn’t want to do that. Being around them hurts, but she needs all the information she can get. “Can you even handle being near them? Don’t pretend that I didn’t know what was happening a moment ago—you looked like you were about to projectile flower-bile all over us!” Lizzie practically yells and Josie clamps her hand over Lizzie’s mouth, looking to see if Hope and Landon have caught on to their conversation, but it appears that the two are still having their own debate.

Josie feels Lizzie’s tongue lick her hand and Josie immediately whips her hand away. “Gross, Lizzie.” She wipes her hand on her jeans. “I’ll be fine and if I feel the urge to purge, I’ll run to the restroom.”

“You said we could take a break from research,” Lizzie pouts grumpily.

“Technically, this is a break.”

“No, a break would have been us shopping in that new boutique I was talking about,” Lizzie huffs. “Having to fourth-wheel Hope’s date with the hobbit is _not._ ”

“Please, Lizzie,” Josie begs. “Remember? The sooner we can find the solution to this the faster we can put this behind us and continue the goal of making this an epic year.”

Lizzie remains quiet, but then eventually rolls her eyes and says, “Fine.” Lizzie and Josie walk over to the table and seat themselves next to Hope and Landon.

“Did you guys want to order anything?” Hope asks as a waiter stops by their table.

Josie shakes her head. “No, we’re good. We just—"

“Are you paying, Mikaelson?” Lizzie asks.

“No, I think Landon is…” An evil smirk forms on Lizzie’s face as she looks up at the waiter and begins to prattle off a bunch of items on the menu that Josie knows Lizzie won’t even touch. Landon’s eyes go wide as saucers as he pulls his wallet out and counts his cash.

“So why are you researching the magical properties of flowers?” Hope leans in close to Josie and Josie can feel the tribrid’s warm breath hotly ghosting over her neck and down her spine.

Josie grabs the glass of water placed in front of her and takes a hearty gulp.

“Personal research—just curious about the historical and magical uses of flowers,” Josie says, not completely far from the truth.

Hope leans back in her chair and crosses her arms. “Well, my Aunt Freya would always say that flowers are vital ingredients a witch needs to make a powerful spell or potion. The petals of the red rose can be used to reveal hidden desires when consumed or even a glamour to make someone beautiful.”

“Oh, I think you might need to make a glamour spell for this one here, Hope.” Lizzie waggles her finger at Landon who sneers at her in return.

Hope rolls her eyes and continues, “The lavender, on the other hand, can be used to create protection wards or make a sleeping draught. Brewed in tea with sage in the air, it reveals the truth and cleanses the soul of negative energy. In the old days, flowers were widely used as powerful ingredients to make healing potions or salves.”

Josie internally groans. She _knows_ all of this. This is nothing new—this is the basics for a witch.

“Do you know anything about flowers used in spells that can cause…maybe a negative side effect?” Like a flower blooming inside of you trying to kill you because of unrequited love, but Josie doesn’t say that. “Or have more sinister intentions?”

Hope raises her brow at Josie. “The thorns of roses can be used to cast revenge curses by scorned lovers,” Hope says with hesitation.

“Are those curses fatal and irreversible?” Josie wonders.

“No,” Hope drawls out. “Most of them are harmless, such as leaving one to have warts and boils for a few days.” Josie deflates, hoping that Hope would have more information. Hope arches her brow and asks, “Are you guys trying to curse someone?”

“Of course not!” Josie says while Lizzie simultaneously huffs, “Not sure yet.” 

Josie kicks Lizzie in the leg. “We aren’t,” Josie reassures.“Purely theoretical research.” Other than actively trying to safely remove the one blooming inside of her.

“Is there something specific you’re looking for in this ‘research?’ Flowers are vastly used in magic and if you narrow it down, maybe I can help?” Josie knows that Hope is catching on to Josie’s lie and she needs to tread carefully with her questions.

“What about a curse—“

“Where someone pukes flowers and they die?” Josie jerks her head at Lizzie’s blatant question.

Hope furrows her eyebrows in confusion. “Pukes flowers? No, I’ve never heard of anything like that...Why?”

Lizzie and Josie remain silent, Hope’s inquisitive gaze analyzing them. Thankfully, they are saved from Hope further interrogating when the food arrives.

The waiter, or waiters, stop by the table effectively killing the conversation of magic in front of the humans. A tray of pastries is laid out in front of them, a basket of loaded fries, a plate of tacos, and four milkshakes. Landon, Hope, and Josie drop their jaws as they stare at the amount of items Lizzie ordered.

“Lizzie, I know you’re not eating all of this and I’m not helping,” Josie reprimands.

Lizzie smirks. “Oh, I know.” Lizzie stands up and crosses her arms. “Which is why this is where Josie and I take our leave. Have a fun date with the troll, Hope.” Her sister then turns around and makes her dramatic exit.

“Um, I should probably go with her…” Josie awkwardly stands up and grabs the books on the table and slings the bag over her shoulder. “Thanks for the info, Hope. And uh,” Josie fumbles with the books in her arms and reaches in her back pocket to pull out her wallet. She pulls out a sleek black credit card and hands it to Hope.

“Use this to pay for the food.” Josie shoves the card in Hope’s hand.

“No, it’s okay Jo—“ Hope tries to give it back but Josie is already walking backwards away from them.

“It’s fine! It’s my dad’s!” Josie yells and then turns to quickly catch up with Lizzie.

Once she’s next to Lizzie, panting from all the weight she’s carrying, Josie hip checks her sister. “That was rude, Lizzie.”

“What was rude was you making me sit through their painfully awkward date and listen to Hope give you a Wicca 101 lesson on flowers,” Lizzie snarks and walks faster.

Josie sighs, knowing that Lizzie’s not entirely wrong. “I know, sorry,” Josie apologizes. “I thought she would know something that could point in the right direction to a cure.”

“Obviously, she had no clue. I guess that means back to more boring research,” Lizzie turns around swiftly, this time Josie stopping in time before crashing again, and relieves some of the weight off Josie by taking the books into her arms. “This was an utter waste of a break.” Lizzie pouts.

“We can still go to that new boutique if you want?" Josie offers.

“Yeah?” Lizzie perks up and Josie can’t help but mirror her twins hopeful smile.

“Yeah, but we can’t buy anything since I gave Hope Dad’s card.”

“What why?”

“Lizzie, you basically just dine and dashed them,” she scolds Lizzie.

“ _Please._ Hope could totally afford it and Olaf will probably eat it all anyway.” Josie rolls her eyes, half-heartedly listening to Lizzie’s verbal assault of Landon as they both walk towards the new boutique.

* * *

Hours later, back at the boarding school and in their room, Josie sits in one of the chairs by the window with the Hanahaki journal in her lap.

Lizzie is currently sleeping in Josie’s bed, snoring softly with a tiny drool at the corner of her lips while Josie remains restless and awake. Josie traces her fingertips on the cherry blossom etching on the cover of the journal, thinking of all the deaths because of unrequited love. She mindlessly flips through the pages and then, after a quick flick of a page, she accidentally cuts her thumb along the pages. Josie winces in surprise and watches as droplets of blood trickle onto a blank page, seeping into the parchment and expanding in size.

Then something strange happens before Josie’s eyes: the drops of blood reveals hidden words on the page—a hidden entry. Josie tries to siphon the magic from the book, assuming a cloaking spell is casted, but nothing happens. She looks at the blood on the page and then her thumb and instantly hates what she has to do in order to unveil the full passage.

Josie throws on a black trench coat on over her pajamas, slips into her white sneakers, and quietly tiptoes her way out of the room. Tiptoeing through the dark halls and down the stairs, Josie stalks towards the kitchen. Upon entering the kitchens, Josie mutters a spell and the fireplace lights up and warms the room with its orange aura. Setting the journal down on the kitchen island, spread open to the cloaked page, Josie rummages through the drawers for a kitchen knife.

“This is going to be a bitch,” Josie curses as she pulls out a stainless steel chef’s knife from a drawer. She positions her left hand above the page as her right hand brings the knife to it and slices a deep cut on her palm. Blood instantly pools from the cut, Josie hissing in pain, and spills onto the page—drenching the journal with Josie’s blood. The blade clatters on the ground as Josie hunches over in pain over the journal. The burn of her open wound is quickly forgotten as Josie watches the page turn red with words shifting from translucent to solid visibility.

Once Josie is sure enough blood seeped through the pages, she instantly does a healing spell to close the cut, unfortunately leaving a long jagged scar across her palm. She delicately turns the blood-soaked page to see the last few pages of the journal, which she assumed were blank, come to life with more words.

_March 15th, 1905_

_New Orleans, LA_

_Day 17:_

_I feel as if my lungs are collapsing. My throat, raw. Raw from all the petals of cherry blossoms that spews out of my mouth every time I think about her. About Diana and my unyielding love for her._

_Constantly, I think about her blonde untamed hair with autumn leaves sticking out of it after she pulls me into a pile of them in the woods. I think about how bright her green eyes are and how they shine so pure in spring. I think about the freckles that bloom across her face in the heat of the summer sun. I think about her chapped lips and the way her tongue sticks out and licks them in the winter._

_It was impossible for me not to fall in love with her. I fell for her the moment she was introduced into my coven._

_But this is the problem: my love for her is what will inevitably kill me. My blooming love for her will suffocate me to the very end. And If it doesn’t kill me first, the coven will—they’ll kill me knowing I desire to lay with a woman._

_Excreting flowers has been hard to hide and those around me have gotten suspicious—watching me and Diana and my every move. I found Mother snooping through my things and nearly finding this journal—luckily, I have performed a spell to keep my secrets from prying eyes of the coven._

_Even then, I know I am putting Diana and I in danger. Eventually my desires will be known with the worsening of my symptoms and Diana and I will be put to trial by the coven—tarnishing her name and sentencing me to burn on the stake._

_Because of this, I am escaping the coven tonight. Running far away and possibly finding shelter deep in the bayous of Louisiana. I will only take with me this journal, my grimoire, and a picture of Diana and me._

_My heart aches of leaving Diana here alone—alone with this toxic and cold coven—but I know the farther I am from her, the safer she will be._

_She will live on, marry someone from within the coven, and forget little ole’ me._

_It’s for the best._

_May 22nd, 1905_

_The Bayous of New Orleans_

_Day 68:_

_My symptoms have been progressively getting worse. Every breath I take I can feel the thorns puncturing my lungs. With every petal that escapes my lips, an intense splattering of blood and thick green slime follows. Even more alarming is the waning of my magic—it grows weaker and weaker every day._

_I knew I was dying. I could sense it to my very core._

_As I felt myself deteriorating, laying in a bed of my own flowers in the depths of the bayou, a miracle came to me in a ball of light. It flickered wildly by me and I tried to snatch it but it was too quick. I swiftly got up and chased after the mischievous light. I thought I was going mad. I felt like I was already so._

_But when I finally snatched it, I transported to an ethereal meadow overfilled with various species of flowers. A vast sea of flowers from red, purple, pink, yellow, blue, and white. The night sky stretched across the expansive field and the moon and stars shimmering and illuminating the vivid colors before me. Then there was a buzzing in my hand and I remembered the ball of light! As I opened my palm, the tiny ball of light revealed itself to be a tiny sprite—a tinkling fairy in the palm of my hands! I could’ve sworn they were only childish myths._

_Alas, the little fairy flew out of the palm of my hand and hummed in a high pitch. All of a sudden, the flowers were beaming with light, a beautiful gold glow, as several tiny fairies flew into the night sky and encased me in a magical glow of light._

_The fairies began to dance around me, harmoniously humming, until they conglomerated into a magnificent body of light before me. It was so blindingly bright that I had to look away._

_And when I opened my eyes, the humming came to a halt, and a goddess stood before me. She towered over me, presumably she was 10ft tall, with long silky black hair that contrasted against her milky white complexion. Her eyes uncannily had a violet hue and her lips a vibrant shade of red. Most peculiar of all was the enormous and fluorescent butterfly wings she adorned—it is unlike anything I’ve ever seen in the supernatural world._

_She told me her name was Anteros—one of Aphrodite’s Erotes—the spirit that ignited the fiery passions of requited love and aided the unrequited (By God, or Gods, does it sound foolish as I write it. But I swear, it is true)._

_She told me that she holds the cure to the Hanahaki Disease and only she has the magic to create it. She conjured a cherry blossom in one hand and then an empty vial in the other. Anteros kissed her red lips on the cherry blossom and the petals fanned out as a baby sprite was born and fluttered its wings, sprinkling fairy dust all over the petals. Jumping with joy, it became a ball of light and flew into the air to join the other sprites. The Goddess then took those very petals and crushed them into the vial._

_I watched in amazement as she waved her hand to beckon a fairy before her. This was one of the dimmest fairy’s as it flew over lethargically with drooped wings and watery eyes. The fairy—well, they were crying. As they got closer to Anteros, they started to cry hysterically and those tears were dropped into the vial. Anteros was creating a potion—the cure was a potion! She kissed the dim fairy to cease their crying and the little fairy flittered away, just a tiny bit brighter._

_Anteros handed me the vial, a pink potion with golden and silver flecks, and told me this was the cure to the disease._

_Just as I was about to bring the elixir to my lips, Anteros gave me a warning: by taking the vial, destroying the blooming flower inside of me, I will lose my ability to love and every memory of the person who has my heart. The flower in me was a symbol of a great love and to destroy it meant to destroy every ounce of love that exists within me._

_I was livid at the knowledge she provided me._

_How could she do this to me? To live, I must forgo what makes me feel alive? I must forgo every loving memory of Diana and thus never be able to love again?_

_Before I could even say anything, the fairies disappeared, taking the light with them, and Anteros had vanished. I was standing in the same spot as before, in my bed of flowers, and only the light of dawn illuminating me._

_I thought it was all a dream, a maddening dream. But then in my hand was the potion—the cure to the Hanahaki Disease. The cure to this disease but also a curse as it will destroy every ounce of love and memory I have of Diana._

_How could I?_

_My heart, despite knowing it is beats away from stopping, is entirely full of love for her and because of her._

_Diana came into my life two years ago and filled me with so much love that I never knew existed. She showed me what love really was when all I knew it as the harsh blows of my father and the condescending cold snipes of my mother._

_Who am I without this love? Am I even human in its absence? Will I be merely an empty shell, soulless and loveless, walking this earth?_

_But if I do not take it, I die regardless. A life of missed opportunities and adventures. Would it not be better to at least be alive with the hope to love again?_

_I do not know what choice is right. I do not know._

_All I know is that this is a cruel game to amuse the Gods._

Josie turns the page, tears tracking down her face and smearing the pages, and finds that she has truly reached the end of the collection. Her heart breaks, mourns for the girl in this journal, and empathizes with the consuming love she had for Diana.

Josie begins to make her way back to her room, journal clutched to her chest, and lets the tears fall at the knowledge she has gained.

What is she supposed to tell Lizzie? A mythical goddess is the only cure and all the research they’ve been doing has been pointless and no magic can cure her?

If this whole Anteros and the magical elixir is true, Josie doesn’t even know if she could take the cure. _Forget every memory of Hope and never love again?_

Forgetting Hope had left an implacable void inside of her, the devastating emptiness making her seek comfort in the powers of black magic. Not even Landon was able to placate the darkness in Josie in the absence of Hope. With the cure, she would be completely empty with no restoration for love. But, logically, Josie knows that even if the cure leaves her with an empty and bleak future, she would at the very least be alive to experience life with Lizzie and watch her grow.

Entering her room quietly, Josie hides the journal away in her desk and peels off the trench coat.Josie slips in bed next to Lizzie, her sister still sound asleep, and cuddles closer.

How could she leave Lizzie? How could she be another person in Hope’s life that dies?

Despite her own hesitations to the cure, Josie knows she owes it to Lizzie and Hope to find it. Hell, she owes it to herself to be given the chance to choose her own fate. Josie knows what she needs to do.

She’ll find a way to find Anteros and get the cure, whatever stakes it may hold.

Josie knows she promised no secrets to Lizzie, but this is something she needs to do on her own. A decision she has to make on her own when she gets her hand on the cure.

She relaxes her body, eyes drooping close, and lets herself succumb to sleep despite seeing the soft light of dawn.

Josie dreams of falling endlessly down a tunnel of flowers and violet eyes floating above her.

* * *

The following days Josie shifts her focus to reading every mythology book there is in search for Anteros. Despite having more information on Anteros than the Hanahaki Disease, albeit still lacking compared to the big gods and goddesses, Josie is still flummoxed as to exactly how she will contact Anteros.

It’s not like she can just perform a seance and summon this unknown goddess—plus, can one even summon a goddess? Probably not.

Apparently Landon is fascinated by mythology, ever since learning of his phoenix origins, and has supplied Josie with a lot of books on the subject. Josie went to his room, absent of Hope since Josie was steering away from the tribrid again, asking to borrow his collection of mythology texts he hoarded. Because Josie was already generally interested in mythology and lore, Landon wasn’t surprised when Josie asked for them. He assumed it was merely Josie being the typical bibliophile she is.

Most of her research, however, has still been alongside Lizzie—discreetly shifting from Greek mythology to magical diseases without alarming Lizzie of her new found knowledge. Though, Lizzie’s focus has been completely elsewhere with their birthday right around the corner and has been also shifting her research to fashion magazines and folders of party plans.

They were in the dining hall at lunch, sitting at a far off table as she and Lizzie had an array of books scattered by their trays of food and Lizzie’s party plans bursting on the table.

“I was thinking maybe a decade theme? Like the Roaring 20s! I would look _fabulous_ in a flapper dress.” Lizzie prattles on while Josie listens distantly as she picks at the corner of the pages of the book in front of her and thinks about all the ways she can summon a Goddess.

_Maybe I have to perform a certain ritual? Like an offering to the Gods…but didn’t they use animal sacrifices? That’s a big no for me…_

“Or maybe we can just ride in on unicorns with frilly tutus on while singing to Katy Perry’s “Fireworks” and explode like glitter?”

Josie hums, “That sounds great, Lizzie…wait what?”

“You’re not paying attention, Josie! This is our 17th birthday party. Considering how last year went, with you getting buried alive and all, this needs to be epic," Lizzie huffs. 

“I can’t think about planning our birthday right now when I have this flower inside of me trying to kill me,” Josie hisses quietly, making sure no one around them heard.

The dejected look on Lizzie’s face makes Josie feel guilty. “I know, I’m sorry.” Lizzie takes Josie’s hand and squeezes softly. “It’s just, I wanted to feel normal again—whatever that is. I just wanted to pretend for a day that fate isn’t trying to perpetually kill us…trying to take you away from me,” Lizzie lets out shakily and pulls away from Josie. “But you’re right. This isn’t the time.” Lizzie motions her hand, prepared to spell the birthday plans away, but then Josie grabs her hand.

“I think a fairytale or mythical theme would be better than a decade one, don’t you think?” Josie smiles at the exciting twin vibes rushing through her and Lizzie’s ecstatic face.

“I _love_ that idea!” Lizzie leans over the table and squishes their faces together. Josie wants Lizzie to be happy and this is a celebration of them together. They deserve a little teenage normalcy in their lives. Plus, their birthday is this weekend and Josie figures that since her symptoms haven’t worsen, only a few petals slipping out every now and then, she has time to live a little.

“I promise after our birthday, you’ll have serious research mode-me!” Lizzie pulls back and squishes Josie’s cheeks with a toothy grin. “I call dibs on Aurora!”

Josie rolls her eyes and swats Lizzie’s hands away. Lizzie continues to prattle on so more about decorations, potential locations, attire, etc. and this time Josie is dutifully paying attention.

In the middle of Lizzie’s ramblings, MG and Kaleb vamp towards the table and seat themselves next to Lizzie.

“Hey girls,” MG smiles widely and then turns to Lizzie with a soft look. “Hi, Lizzie.” Josie rolls her eyes. MG is so far gone for Lizzie—it’s disgustingly cute. She just hope Lizzie wakes up and sees what’s right in front of her soon.

Kaleb picks at the various books on the history of diseases and magical deaths on the table while also looking at the decoration plans. “Are you guys planning some death party or something?” he jokes.

Lizzie scoffs, “Of course not.”

“Those books are just for my own enjoyment,” Josie says, spelling them away. “We are planning a fairytale/fantasy theme for our birthday though.”

“That sounds like it will be wicked fun,” Kaleb smiles and seats himself down. 

“Cool! Can I help?” MG looks at Lizzie with puppy eyes.

Lizzie flips her hair and scoffs, “Of course. I need someone to help run the errands with and hold all my bags.” MG beams at that. He is so whipped.

“I’m totally being the DJ because, no offense, y’all have some depressing taste in music for parties,” Kaleb bites into his apple ignoring Lizzie and MG’s offended gasp.

“Well,” Lizzie scoffs, but not really saying no to Kaleb.

“What are you going as Lizzie?” MG asks, probably hoping to match his costume with her.

“Aurora from Sleeping Beauty, the fairest of them all.”

“That’s Snow White, Lizzie,” Josie laughs.

“Snow White was useless—all she did was cook, clean, and sleep for the entire movie.“

“So did Sleeping Beauty!” Josie reminds her. “Aurora and Snow White were one-dimensional characters the whole movie and it framed the woman's role in the house and secondary to man,” Josie rants.

Kaleb and MG nodding enthusiastically at Josie's feminist tirade against the classic Disney princesses. “Whatever, I’m taking a revisionist approach to it.” Lizzie waves her hand.

“I think I’ll go as Prince Phillip…” MG says and then Kaleb throws an apple core at him.

“That’s beneath you,” Kaleb rolls his eyes at MG. “I think we should go as the Robin Hood and the Merry Men—outlaws who defy the oppressive structure and stick up for the little man.” Kaleb stands up and puffs his chest out. “You can be Little John MG and I’ll be Robin Hood.”

“What? Why would I be Little John?” MG crosses his arms. “How about going as the Knights of the Round Table?”

MG, Kaleb, and Lizzie all start bouncing off costume ideas as Josie sits back, content to listen to them, taking in the rare moment of feeling like a regular teenager with her friends bickering about nonsensical moments in life.

It’s a welcome reprieve.

* * *

Sneaking away from Lizzie’s chaotic planning, Josie is hiding away at the Old Mill. The plethora of decorations Lizzie was starting to overfill the room was making Josie a tad claustrophobic. So she left Lizzie and MG with their planning and sought a moment away from the colorful party amenities and squabbles in the school for a walk in the woods.

Josie seats herself on the dingy couch in the Mill, legs sprawled out to the end of the couch and head resting on its arm. She opens one of the books she got from Landon, delving into the tragic story of the god Apollo and his love for the young Spartan prince Hyacinthus—the mythological origins of the Hyacinth flower.

As Josie delves deeper into the book and its tragic love stories, the sun starts to set and the lights strung all over the Mill becomes a more prominent source of light for Josie. The creaking of wood, however, suddenly alarms Josie. She pokes her head out from the book and notices Hope stepping in, wearing a pensive expression.

For a moment, Hope doesn’t notice Josie and Josie watches Hope sniffing the air animatedly. Then Hope stops, nose scrunched, and stiffens when she makes eye contact with Josie.

“What are you doing here?” Hope asks as Josie scrambles to sit up.

“Needed a bit of fresh air from all the commotions at the school. You? ” Josie notices the stiffness in Hope’s posture.

Hope bites her lips and approaches Josie, sitting down next to her, knees jumping up and down. “I have a splitting headache and been on edge all day—all week, really. I was snapping so much at people, your dad actually ordered me to come out and shift.”

“Oh, I can go if you want!” Josie stands up quickly, ready to leave and not wanting to intrude on Hope’s private wolf needs. But Hope grabs her wrist and stops her from leaving.

Josie turns as to see why Hope has stopped her. Hope still looks tense, blue eyes ablaze with a tint of gold directed at Josie. “Are you avoiding me?”

“What? No, I’m not,” Josie balks.

Okay, so Josie is.

But every time she’s near Hope her senses fray and the burgeoning flower inside her keeps reminding her how fatally in love she is with Hope. It was safer to stay away from Hope, for the both of them, until Josie figures out this whole Anteros dilemma. Josie thinks if she puts more distance between the two, the less painful it will be for Hope in the event Josie doesn’t get the cure in time. Turns out, avoiding Hope did the opposite of what Josie intended.

“You are,” Hope pushes. “Ever since Jed’s party, you’ve been avoiding me. I had to practically bargain you with information about flowers at the Grill just to get you to stay,” Hope laughs humorlessly. “Even then, you were quick to leave. I thought we were getting back to being friends again. I thought you were getting over…” Hope sucks in her breath, drops her hand from Josie’s wrist, and clamps her mouth shut.

Josie holds the book close to her chest and shakes her head. “Hope, I thought I told you I don’t care about you and Landon,” Josie reassures. She doesn’t care about Hope and Landon, at least not in the way Hope is assuming.

“Then why have you been avoiding me?” Hope whispers. “Even though everyone’s memories are back, it still feels like I don’t exist to you.”

Josie aches, envisioning the flower inside of her shrinking in disappointment at Josie’s actions. She never _ever_ wants Hope to feel like that.

“God, I sound like such an idiot,” Hope shakes her head and lets out a watery laugh. Hope moves to get up and brushes past Josie. “I just need to shift and—sorry, Josie, just forget I said that. I didn’t mean to corner you like that.” This time, Josie stops Hope.

Josie drops the book she was reading and steps in front of Hope and grabs the tribrid’s hands, ignoring the coarseness of the skin and protracted claws, and pours her heart into golden eyes.

“You _exist_ to me Hope," she declares wholeheartedly. "I’m so sorry I made you feel that way." Hope blinks the tears away and Josie presses on, “I know I’ve been distant lately, but it’s not your fault.”

The flower killing Josie is because of her own feelings, because of a curse by the Gods, and Hope is in no way responsible for the way Josie feels. And Josie feels terrible for making Hope think she was the reason Josie was avoiding her.

“But I’m here now,” Josie smiles innocently at the older girl. “I promise to be a better friend from now on.”

“You’re already great friend, Josie.” Hope turns her hand to interlock her fingers with Josie, her hands shifting back to normal, and Josie watches as Hope stills at the sight of the scar on Josie’s palm. Hope gently traces her finger against it. “What happened?” Hope growls.

“Kitchen accident,” Josie smoothly lies. Lizzie had asked earlier in the day, her twin sympathy noticing the stinging pain, and Josie had used the same excuse. 

“I can make the scar go away?” Hope offers kindly, but Josie shakes her head.

“It’s fine, it’ll heal in time.” Josie shivers as Hope continues to trace her fingers along the scar. They stand in comfortable silence, the orange glow of the lights and the tranquil sounds of nature lulling them in to a calming state.

“Did you still want to shift before it gets dark?” Josie asks, noticing the sky getting darker.

Hope pauses her gentle caress of Josie’s hand and then shakes her head. “Can we stay here just a bit longer? I think my headache is going away.” Josie watches the gold in Hope’s eyes revert back to their natural shade of blue.

Josie nods, “Of course. Want to sit down?”

Hope nods and lets go of Josie’s hand as she sluggishly makes her way to the couch. Josie can imagine how tired Hope must be feeling after bottling up her heightened emotions for a week and then releasing some of her anxieties to Josie just now.

Josie picks up the book she had dropped and makes her way over to sit next to Hope. The tribrid is sitting at the end of the couch, knees tucked in close to her chest, as she lays her head against the back.

“What are you reading this time? More research about flowers?” Hope yawns. Josie shakes her head and holds out the book in front of Hope to read, “The Love Stories of Fables, Myths, and Fairytales?” Hope’s blue eyes shimmer with curiosity. “I didn’t know you were such a romantic, Jo,” Hope teases.

Josie slightly shoves Hope and it just makes Hope laugh.“Most classical love stories are grim, filled with despair and longing, and are often tragic. Tales of great love that can never be.” Josie feels her throat constricting.

Hope scrunches up her eyebrows and pouts. “If they aren’t happy love stories why read them? Why torture yourself?”

Why indeed.

Josie ponders her answer and looks into befuddled blue eyes. “The greatest loves are the ones that are worth fighting for. According to mythology, they are also the ones worth dying for.” Josie swears she can feel the petal slipping its way up against the walls of Josie’s throat.“Love stories can also evoke powerful messages about humanity and the self. They tell us about how societies were structured and what role love played in them and the lessons they told. Love stories can inspire us to create beautiful art and usher an era of rebirth and beauty. Or they can create destruction, filled with betrayal and vengeance, and a world lost and colorless. The greatest lessons can be learnt from great tales of love.” Hope leans in closer, focused on Josie’s voice, and Josie notices the heaviness in Hope’s eyes and the dark circles under them.

She flips open the book to where she last left off and Hope moves closer, leaning over Josie’s shoulder to look at the pages.

Josie stops on a page with a painting of devastated man, wearing a red toga adorned with a wreath on his head, holding a lifeless woman dressed in white in his arms. “Think of the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice. Because of Orpheus’s impatience, lack of faith, he lost his greatest love. If he had waited a moment longer, he and Eurydice would have been reunited. Instead, she was left with Hades in the Underworld and he spent the rest of his mortal years mourning her and never loving again. Singing lovely, yet heart-breaking, songs about Eurydice until his last breath.”

Hope frowns, voice laced with exhaustion, “That is depressing. Not being able to ever fall in love again.”

Josie chuckles sadly, “Yeah, it is.” Josie watches as Hope’s eyes flicker open and close, Hope trying her best to stay awake. “But I, uh, like the happy ones too.” Hope quirks her eyebrow at Josie questioningly. “I was a sucker for Beauty and the Beast.”

Hope let out a soft laugh. “Did you have the hots for the Beast, Josie?” Josie reddens and Hope snickers behind her hand.

“Shut up. He was an adorable puppy that transformed into a beautiful person at the end.” Hope throws her head back and laughs freely and Josie is swept in by how beautiful she looks. Is this why Orpheus turned around at the end? Desperate to see his love again and bask in her beauty? If Eurydice was as beautiful as Hope was, then Josie understands.

The tribrid licks her lips and her light blue eyes vibrant like the clear skies in midsummer. She leans in closer to Josie, leaning her head down on Josie’s shoulder, and Josie can smell the roses. She can feel her chest blossoming.

Yes, Josie understands. She understands.

“Would you like me to tell you another myth—a happier one...well as happy as Greek myths can be?” Josie looks down at Hope who is wearing a relaxed smiled, eyes closed, and nods.

“This is the myth of Iphis and Ianthe, a young girl who falls in love with another girl…” Josie continues to read, listening to soft exhales of Hope sleeping soundly, and the flower inside Josie is just as dormant.

They stay like that, Josie reading to a sleeping Hope, until her dad and Lizzie finds them and walks them back to school.

Hope staying close to Josie on the walk back, ever so slightly brushing her hand against Josie’s in her sleepy stupor.

Unbeknownst to Josie, the flower begins to multiply—a bed of white roses blooming inside her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love mythology, okay? I can go on about flowers in mythology. I definitely will be making my own interpretations of them, though. I was disappointed at how the show wrote Eros and other myths, but oh well. That's what fanfic is for lol. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> Hopefully, I'll post another chapter by Friday!


	3. Part I: Sub Rosa

The week went by in a flurry with all the commotion of planning Lizzie and her birthday party: ordering assortment of themed pastries, hiring local caterers, dress fittings with Lizzie, sound checks with Kaleb, and blowing up balloons with MG. Honestly, Josie feels like she ran three marathons the past few days with Lizzie’s laborious planning. But despite the grandeur of it all, Josie has been enjoying her time—especially being on cleaning duty at the Old Mill with Hope. Technically, Rafael and Landon are assigned to help them, but Lizzie has been dragging them away for heavy duty lifting and often leaving Josie and Hope alone.

Josie really doesn’t mind that.

After hearing Hope’s anxieties, Josie has stopped avoiding the tribrid. The two have spent nearly every moment together since that day and Josie’s heart swells at Hope’s undivided attention when they’re together.

Rarely does Hope bring up Landon during their time together cleaning the Mill and Josie is grateful for that. Because in these moments, Josie pretends that Hope’s in love with her and not Landon: hanging lanterns together, throwing streamers at each other, levitating furniture around as Hope regally sits on them like a throne, and ending the day reading another tale to the older girl who sleepily sits next to her.

In these moments, Josie pretends and forgets the world outside of their bubble. She basks in Hope’s presence and her stunning beauty—Josie helplessly falls more in love with Hope every day and soaks up every little detail in these private moments with just the two of them. But when Landon, with all his sincere charms, takes Hope away and they part for the day, reality sets in—leaving Josie heaving over the toilet bowl expunging white petals as Lizzie holds her hair back.

And Lizzie scolds her for putting her heart through the wringer by spending every waking moment with Hope and Josie knows that she’s a masochist in these moments. But how could she not want to embrace every moment she has with Hope? Josie will take any chance she can just to be in the tribrid’s alluring presence and beauty.

Two days away from the party, Josie and Hope are putting some of the final touches that Lizzie instructed them to do. Josie is sweeping the dust from the creaky floorboards and Hope is hanging the lights from pillar to pillar—they work in companionable silence and Josie loves these quiet moments.

Soft music is playing from the speaker’s of Kaleb’s setup and she’s humming along to the melodious voice and the acoustic strums, not really sweeping anymore. The broom becomes her dance partner, swaying with her to the music.

“Should I leave you and the broom alone?” Josie startles at Hope’s teasing voice next to her. She looks to see the auburn-haired girl smirking at her with her eyes amusedly shifting between Josie and the broom.

“Shut up,” Josie huffs in embarrassment and goes back to brushing the dirt and dust away.

Hope holds her hands up and says, “Don’t stop on my account. The broom looked like he was _sweeping_ you off your feet.”

Josie groans loudly at Hope’s terrible pun, but secretly delighted at the rare playful nature Hope’s showing her. She throws the broom at Hope in retaliation for the bad joke and Hope just catches it in her hands and laughs.

“If you wanted a dance partner, you could’ve just asked,” Hope teases.

Josie rolls her eyes. “Oh, like you’re any better. I would’ve had more luck with the broom,” she jokes, but then she yelps when Hope wraps her arm around her and pulls her in to a waltz.

“H-hope?” she stutters out, her heart faltering at the sudden intimacy. Josie fumbles with her footing as Hope leads her to the soft ballad playing in the background.

Hope smirks at Josie and boasts, “I need to remind you who's the reigning Miss Mystic Falls and what an amazing dancer I am.” Josie’s heart swells with the song as Hope twirls her around and box-steps her way around her heart.

“You know, I was just joking,” Josie quietly says, cheeks aflame with Hope and her dancing.

Hope nods, still smiling charmingly at Josie. “I know, just wanted to dance with you.” She dips Josie down and then pulls her back in—chests brushing against each other slightly. “Plus, I think you need some practice, Jo,” Hope teases.

Josie indignantly scoffs and Hope’s laugh echoes off the walls and vibrates through Josie and straight to her heart. Josie will never get over how beautiful Hope's laugh sounds. They continue to waltz and move in sync, the lights hanged around them emitting a soft glow around them, and the world outside seems to fade away.

“Tell me a story,” Hope whispers as the song changes to another slow ballad.

“Right now?” Josie asks and Hope affectionately nods. She takes a moment to think of what tale she hasn’t told Hope yet. “Have you heard of the tragic love story of Tristan and Isolde?" 

Hope shakes her head and Josie clears her throat: 

“Sent to Ireland on the request of the King of Cornwall, his uncle Mark, Tristan met the beautiful Irish princess Isolde. His sole duty was to ask Isolde’s hand in marriage on behalf of his uncle and to bring her to Cornwall where she would wed the King and unite the two kingdoms. But on their journey, they drank a magical love potion that the queen had procured for Isolde and King Mark—it was to create an everlasting love to anyone who tasted it. Mistaking the potion for wine, Tristan and Isolde drank it and then instantaneously became passionately enamored with each other; bound by a great and eternal love. Despite this, Tristan and Isolde were also bound by their duty: Tristan’s loyalty to his uncle, his King, and Isolde’s promise to unite their nations through marriage.”

As the sun sets and the chilly night air sets in, Josie stares into Hope’s piqued, yet sleepy, blue eyes—she knows their night is soon coming to an end. No longer taking the lead, Hope leans her head against Josie’s shoulder and they lazily sway to the music.

“Do you want me to finish the story?” she asks and tired Hope nods her head, the tip of her warm nose tickling the skin on Josie's neck. Josie gulps and continues the story, lulling the tribrid in a languid state of contentment. 

“Sadly, they chose their duty over their love: Isolde married Mark of Cornwall, despite her heart belonging to his nephew, and Tristan remained the loyal knight to his King. But as hard as they tried, Tristan and Isolde could not contain this great love, so they continued their passionate love affair in secrecy. However, their love was too powerful to not notice and the people and the King began to suspect the nature of their relationship. In discovering Tristan and Isolde’s adultery, King Mark banished his nephew from Cornwall and ordered Isolde to forever remain bound to Cornwall, by his side and not Tristan’s. Years pass and Tristan would move on and marry another woman, but his heart eternally tied to Isolde. The story ends with Isolde escaping Cornwall to save Tristan from a poisonous dagger only to find that she is too late. Devastated over Tristan’s death, Isolde takes her own life soon after—unable to bear the separation of their souls.”

Hope groans wearily, “Do you fill your head with only tragic love stories?”

They’re dance is coming to a slow crawl, music waning in the background. Josie chuckles as Hope pulls apart and glares at Josie petulantly.

“I told you most epic loves in mythology rarely have a happy ending.” Josie and Hope stand still, hands together, as the soft piano continues to play from the speakers. Josie thinks if she were to just lean a little closer she—

Then she hears the approaching voices of Landon and Lizzie bickering. Josie and Hope pull apart slowly, hands disconnecting and falling to their sides, as they turn to the sound of loud banter. 

“Do you have to breathe so loudly with your onion-breath?” Lizzie barks.

“What’s your problem?” Landon bites back.

Lizzie taps her chin, "Where do I start?" she snarks. 

Josie and Hope watch as Lizzie and Landon glare at each other and MG awkwardly in the middle, his eyes pleading at Josie and Hope to save him.

“I guess that’s our cue to go,” Hope wispily sighs. The tribrid squeezes Josie’s arm affectionately before moving away to pull Landon’s heated gaze from Lizzie to hers. Josie’s throat constricts as Landon leans down and kisses Hope’s forehead and she looks away. She faintly hears Landon and Hope whisper goodnight but Josie fearfully keeps her mouth shut and her eyes casted down.

“Josie,” Lizzie’s voice calls and her hand gently tilts Josie’s chin to look at her. “You okay?” She’s met with her twin's crystalline blue eyes, softly staring at her in concern. Behind her she sees MG tapping his foot to the music and in the distance Hope and Landon walking further and further away.

Her chest aches and suddenly she feels faint—

Josie drops to her knees and her head is throbbing in pain—the room is spinning and her bones feel weak. Lizzie and MG are immediately by her side in concern.

“Jo, what’s wrong?” MG says frantically. “Should I go get Dr. Saltzman?”

“No,” Josie croaks and winces at the sound of her own voice loudly beating in her head. Her bones ache and she feels sore. The bright lights above her making her headache worse and all her senses feels heightened. Josie assumes this has nothing to do with the disease and just her body telling her that it’s exhausted from all the activities of the week. “Just tired, I think.” She slowly stands up with the help of MG and Lizzie. There’s a high pitched hum in her ear and Josie grips onto Lizzie’s hand tightly, trying to push through the throbbing pain. “Planning and decorating a birthday party is hard work, you know?” she jokes.

“Don’t work yourself too hard, Josie,” MG’s soothing voice warms her heart and the ringing pain relents. “I need you to be in tip-top shape so we can bust moves together on your birthday.” Josie laughs weakly and nods her head, body too tired to respond.

Lizzie wraps her arm around Josie and pulls her in close. “I got my sister from here, MG.” MG nods, giving Josie one last concerned look, and then vamps away.

With MG gone, Lizzie and Josie stand alone in the Mill. “Do you—do you need to puke?” Lizzie asks cautiously.

Josie shakes her head and pats Lizzie’s hand. “No, I think I just overexerted myself this time. Really,” she convinces her twin and herself.

Lizzie buys it and they make their way back to their dorm room, Josie sluggishly dragging her feet against the ground. As they leave the Mill, Josie swears she sees one of the hanging lights detach itself from the bulbs and dance in the air—she must be really tired if she's seeing a ball of light dancing.

* * *

With a day away from their birthday party, nearly all tasks finished, Lizzie has ordered Josie to stay inside and rest. Her twin has been increasingly worried about Josie’s condition, but Josie assuages Lizzie’s worries reminding her to just focus on the party and they can both worry together after.

Sitting alone in her room by the window, Josie opens up her journal to a blank page. Inspired by the Hanahaki journal, Josie decided to record her own experience—hoping to add on to the little information there is on this supernatural disease.

_Day 15_

_It’s been two weeks since I started puking flowers…since I found out that I was dying because I was in love with Hope and I was cursed with this disease. Lizzie’s been badgering me to tell Hope—to confess. She insists that Hope and her perfectly heroic actions will save me like always. But Lizzie doesn’t know that no amount of magic Hope holds, tribrid blood and all, can save me. Lizzie doesn’t know that my cure lies in the hands of a mythical goddess I have no idea how to summon._

_More importantly, Lizzie doesn’t even know my own internal dilemma with the cure. A part of me knows it is foolish of me not to take it, but the side effects it bears terrifies me._

_These past few days with Hope are the happiest I’ve ever been in a long time. To let them go and then become a vacant shell for the rest of my life? I don’t know if I want that life._

_But this is assuming I find Anteros at all._

_If I do not find her, then…_

Josie pauses when she hears a knocks on the door. She closes her journal and gets up to hide it away in her desk, muttering a quick charm to conceal it from wandering eyes—mainly Lizzie's wandering eyes. 

Opening the door she sees Hope, Hope who looks extremely tense in her Salvatore uniform and has her balls tightly in a fist.

“I have a problem and I need your help,” Hope hastily says and rushes in before Josie can open her mouth.

Josie closes the door and turns to see a pacing tribrid who looks ready to burst.

“What’s wrong? Is it another monster? What do you need me to do?” she frantically rushes out.

Hope faces her, with a serious look, and takes a deep breath, “I couldn’t find a costume for tomorrow night.” There’s a beat. “Well, Lizzie threw a random dress at me and told me to go as the Red Priestess Melisandre—I’m assuming that was an insult?” Josie nods in confirmation, that was certainly a shade from Lizzie, her twin definitely letting her secret nerdy side slip. She wonders if Lizzie was referring to Melisandre’s true form and—Josie shakes her head and focuses back on Hope. The older girl waves her arms in the air exasperated, “Anyways, so then I let Landon choose my costume and I really wasn’t paying attention to what he was saying but I said yes and now…and well…” Hope takes a deep breath and then gives Josie a pointed glare.

“Don’t laugh,” Hope growls and points at her. “Promise me.”

“I promise.” Josie rolls her eyes. This is the big problem? She thought it was more serious…

…oh.

Hope pulls her hair back behind both of her ears to reveal…to reveal elf ears. Hope has elf ears that are wiggling.

“Um,” Josie swallows trying with all her might not to laugh. “Are those real—”

“Real elf ears? Yes!” Hope huffs. “Landon wanted me to go as this stupid character from _Lord of the Rings,_ Arla or something and…”

“Arwen, you mean, Arwen.” Josie bites her lips trying to hold in her laugh.

“…he bought some prosthetic ones from a costume shop but then apparently Alyssa Chang charmed them to become real when I put them on! Now I have real elf ears that wiggle every time I talk!”

Josie has been trying to hold in her laugh this entire time, desperately trying to keep her promise to Hope, but she can’t hold it any longer and she bursts out laughing. Hope’s elf ears were wiggling dramatically the more the tribrid got heated and it was a complete mix of absurd and adorable to Josie.

Hope crosses her arms and pouts. “Josie! My boyfriend has an elf fetish! I’m already short enough!” Josie keels over and laughs with tears in her eyes—there’s a possibility a flower might just puff out mid-laugh.

“Stop laughing, this is serious,” Hope attempts to growl, but Josie knows Hope isn’t angry at her by the way the corner of Hope’s lips keeps inching upwards.

“ _This,_ ” Josie stands and makes a circular motion in the air around Hope’s face, “is hilarious.” Hope groans and shoves a still laughing Josie on the bed. Josie freely falls down feeling light as feather from laughing so hard—it’s been a dreadful two weeks and this was the type of news she needed.

Josie’s laughter dies down and she feels the bed dip beside her. Hope’s next to her laying on her side, elbow propping her up, looking down at Josie with sparkling blue eyes. Josie feels her heart swell at just how radiant Hope looks with the sun peaking through the window pane, illuminating Hope as this angelic figure…

…but really Josie just can’t get over the ears and starts to giggle again.

“Josie, please help me,” Hope whines desperately. “They won’t come _off._ ”

Josie calms down and gives Hope’s elf ears a look without bursting out in laughter again, even though she really wants to. She reaches up to touch Hope’s ears, but hesitates and stares at Hope for consent. Hope rolls her eyes and leans down as a sign of permission.

Josie tugs at the point of the elf ears and Hope yelps in surprise. She gives another experimental tug and they’re still not budging.

“Huh,” Josie sits up and Hope follows. She prods at Hope’s elf ears with both of her hands and shifts closer to get a better look at them. Josie leans in to inspect them and scratches at the skin behind Hope’s elf ears to see if they’re really attached. They are. There’s nothing prosthetic about them and Josie scratches again and then she hears it.

The low moan coming from Hope. Josie’s hand slowly pulls back and she looks at Hope who is flushed red from her neck up and biting her lip.

“They’re, uh, sensitive…” Hope coughs and her ears give a tiny wiggle. Josie nods her head, but remains quiet. She feels warm and Josie shifts slightly to relieve the sudden pressure building at the sound of Hope moaning. Her hands are slightly shaking and Josie clenches them in a fist by her sides, keeping them locked there because she’s desperate to make that sound come from Hope again.

_Oh Gods, do I have an elf fetish?_

Josie shakes her head and calms her thoughts down. She looks at Hope who is staring at Josie with a blank expression—but Josie swears she can see a tint of gold shimmering in her eyes.

“So,” Josie coughs, cutting through the suddenly thick tension in the air. “Do you know how long until the spell wears off?”

The tribrid blinks her eyes slowly and then shakes her head. “I’m hoping it’ll wear off by the end of the day. I really don't want to go as this elf-chick to your birthday party,” Hope huffs. “What are you going as?”

Right a costume…Josie was supposed to get that. “I don’t have a costume.”

Hope looks at her confused. “Are you not going to your own party?”

“No, I am. I just…forgot?” she shrugs her shoulder innocently.

“The party is tomorrow, Jo. Lizzie must have one ready for you?” Josie shakes her head.

Usually Lizzie chooses one for her so they can complement each other, but Lizzie’s been very sweet about being attentive to Josie’s needs and wants lately.

Hope stands up and places her hands on her hips. “Let’s go.”

“Where are we going?” Josie arches her eyebrows at Hope.

“I can’t believe I’m going to say this,” Hope groans and scrunches her eyes in disgust. “But let’s go shopping.”

Josie gasps, “You’ve been hanging out with my sister too much.” Josie stands up and pokes Hope. “Are you sure Alyssa just charmed those elf ears to stay on? You’re not, like, turning into a normal teenage girl are you?” Josie teases and Hope shoves her down on the bed again.

* * *

Hope and Josie are browsing in a thrift store on the outskirts of Mystic Falls—quite literally at the edge as Josie can see the “You’re Leaving Mystic Falls” sign. They took their dad’s car, with his permission of letting them take it only if Hope drove, which Josie was insulted by. She’s a _great_ driver.

Josie was trailing behind Hope and watching the older girl peruse the aisles of random clothing, her little elf ears still intact and poking through every now and then.

“What about this?” Hope pulls out a pink dress. “You can be Rapunzel—the _Tangled_ version where she cuts her hair at the end and it goes from blonde to brown?”

Josie shakes her head. “Pink really isn’t my color.” Hope puts the dress away and continues to rummage through the rack of dresses.

“Hey, how about this for you?” Josie pulled out a green dress. “This is like the dress Arwen wore?”

Hope rolls her eyes, “Put that away,” she huffs.

Josie pouts. Hope would look amazingly beautiful as Arwen…Josie shakes her head and tries to calm her thoughts.

“So, what’s Landon going as? Was he going as Aragorn?” Josie thinks that Landon is nothing compared to Aragorn—he's a cross between Pippin and Merry to Josie.

Hope turns to look at her like she has three heads. “Like who?”

“Aragorn? Arwen’s lover from Lord of the Rings?” Hope remains silent and blinks her pretty blue eyes at Josie. “How do you not know Lord of the Rings? It’s like the supernatural teen’s must read right after Harry Potter.” Then it’s probably, unfortunately, Twilight. “Have you at least seen the movies?”

Hope shrugs her shoulders. “I never really had any friends to watch movies with, being the Great Evil’s daughter and all.” Josie stops and looks at Hope sadly. All those years of poking and all Hope wanted was someone to see her more than her family’s name and her identity as a tribrid. Josie remembers watching Hope sit alone at lunch or hiding out by the docks by herself and it makes Josie ache.

“Do you want to?”

Hope stops moving onto the next item of clothing on the rack. “Want to what?”

“Want to watch a stupid movie?”’ Josie chews at her bottom lip. “We can have a movie night with everyone, of course. I bet MG and Landon would love to watch Lord of the Rings and explain it all to you.”

Hope softly smiles at Josie, “I’d love that.” She then looks back at the rack and picks at the random piece. “But maybe it can be just you and me? I like it when you explain things to me, like when you read myths and lores.”

Josie heart thunders against her chest. “I’ll be more than happy to.” She whispers and they stare at each other for a moment before silently going back to looking for their costumes for tomorrow night.

“Hey what about this?” Josie pulls out a red dress with a hood. “You can be Little Red Riding Hood? And it even comes with a hood so you can cover your elf ears if they don’t go away by tomorrow night?”

Hope smiles, “Not bad. Ironic though, since I’m a wolf and all.” Then Hope pulls out a plain yellow dress with frills at the end. “You did say you liked Beauty and the Beast? Plus, you’re just like Belle: you read a lot, super smart, loyal, and beautiful.”

Josie dumbly nods and takes the dress in her hands, her hand running along the soft fabric. Hope brushes past her and moves towards the front where the cashier is at and Josie slowly follows her.

Josie’s heart thumps erratically and she expects to feel the fire in her throat and the tightening of her lungs…but she feels light like she's floating in air instead. There’s a flicker of hope that surges through Josie. _Hope thinks I’m beautiful?_

* * *

Hope and Josie are walking back to the car, idly chatting, when a gust of wind blows violently by. The bag holding her dress forcibly tugs her to the ground and Hope, who tried to catch Josie, follows. Josie groans, a throbbing pain inching every part of her body from the fall, hears her ear drums pounding with a faint sound of wind chimes.

She opens her eyes and readjusts to the bright sun gazing down on them and the little fairy snickering above her— _wait a_ _fairy?_ Josie’s blurry vision clears and she sees it flittering their wings with a mischievous expression. The little sprite twirls in the air and then flies away leaving a trail of gold dust in its path.

Swiftly, not wanting to lose the only thing that could potentially lead her to Anteros, Josie moves to get up but she is blocked by a heavy weight pinning her down. The weight lifts itself off Josie’s body and a mess of auburn locks shrouds Josie’s face and small grunt is made. Josie finally registers that the weight holding her down is none other than Hope.

Hope eyes are scrunched close and her hair in disarray from the violent gust of wind and the fall. Josie nearly squeaks when she feels Hope’s palm on her left boob as the older girl props herself up.

“What the heck was that?” Hope groans and her blue eyes look down at Josie in concern. “You okay, Josie? Are you hurt?”

Josie is red as a beet and her mind completely forgets about the little sprite she saw.

Hope tilts her head at Josie’s silence and Josie watches Hope's eyes go completely wide as the tribrid realizes what she was holding onto. She's still stunned as Hope recoils back so quickly that she falls backwards on her ass.

“S-sorry!” Hope squawks.

Josie tries to shake the heat on her face away and slowly gets up. “Don’t worry about it.” She lends her hand to a very red Hope to help the older girl up. Just as Josie pulls her up, another harsh wind passes through again and pushes Hope into Josie's arms.

Josie instinctively folds her arms around Hope, holding her close, and finds herself face to face with the tribrid. With Hope this close, Josie captures the little details of her face: the full shape of her brows, the button of her nose, the prominence of her cupid bow, and even the beautiful flush of pink against her cheekbones. Just as Hope’s long lashes flutter open and close, so does Josie’s heart. The temptation to mould herself closer to Hope burns her to the very core, but no matter how close she has Hope in her arms Josie suspects it will never be enough. After a few silent moments of Josie holding her breath, she feels Hope pull back and puts a distance between her and Josie—the flower twisting inside her, squeezing her lungs.

“Uh, thanks,” Hope says awkwardly crossing her ams. “Why did it get so windy all of a sudden?” The wind softly blows around them and Hope’s hair is vibrantly billowing in the air. Josie thinks she looks like a goddess with how her hair is glowing beneath the sun and the gold specks flittering over her…wait, _gold specks?_ Josie’s brain starts to function again and she immediately remembers: _the fairy!_

The little fairy is swirling above them snickering with glee. “We should head back before it gets dark—Josie, what are you looking at?”

Josie looks back at Hope to see the other girl confused. “You don’t see it?”

“See what?”

“The fairy!” The sprite wiggles their talons at Josie.

Hope, thinking that Josie is referring to her elf-ears, scowls, “Josie I do not look like a fairy! I’m nothing like those ditzy imaginary sprites.” Josie watches as the fairy sticks their tongue out at Hope in clear distaste at being called ditzy. They then mimic Hope’s angry expression and crossed arms. Josie chuckles at that. “Are you laughing at me?” Hope growls.

“No, the fairy,” Josie giggles at the fairy continuing to mock Hope.

“Josie…what are you talking about? Did you hit your head? Do you have a concussion?” Hope moves closer to inspect Josie, but then Josie sees the fairy zoom away once more with a trail of dust behind it. Josie ducks from Hope’s hands and chases after the little sprite.

“I’ll be back!” She yells as she hears Hope call after her in the distance.

Josie follows the trail of dust outside of the town and into the woods. The wind pushes with her as she runs faster to catch the zooming fairy, twisting in and out of Josie’s vision, and the sound of wind chimes she had heard earlier intensifies. Josie feels her lungs burning and her legs growing sore, sweat dripping down the back of her neck as she tirelessly chases after the sprite— _I should really work out more._ Thankfully, Josie is given a break as the fairy stops by an unlit lantern hanging from a branch. Josie stops beneath it, chest heaving up and down as she tries to catch her breath, and watches as the fairy flutters down to her. She holds out the palm of her hand and the fairy lands on the tip of their toes. The fairy shines brighter as the sun sets and sky dims to dusk.

The fairy is nude, almost androgynous in form, and is bald with sharp pointed ears. They have sharp talons and Josie can see razor sharp teeth shining from their mischievous smile. Yet, the fairy emanates a beautiful light and the golden glow they project creates an ethereal and mystical allure.

“I can’t believe you’re real,” Josie whispers reverently. The little sprite twirls and giggles at Josie before flying directly in front of Josie’s line of sight. Josie’s enchantment of the fairy grows sour, however, as the little sprite blows raspberries in her face—a full dust of golden specks flying into her eyes—as it zooms back into the lantern. Josie, rubbing her eyes from all the fairy dust, notices how the once unlit lantern is now glowing with the fairy inside of it.

“Little annoying thing,” Josie huffs. She’s about to tell the sprite off when she notices a cobblestone pathway leading to a little shop before her. Josie takes one more annoying glance at the sprite in the lantern before following the cobblestone path.

At the entrance she sees wind chimes hanging and a wood sign off to the side that read: Pysche’s Magical Garden. Hesitantly, Josie pushes the door open, wind chimes chiming at her arrival, and she is hit with a beautiful scent of honeysuckle and incense.

The inside of the shop resembled one of a traditional apothecary, but with various plotted plants hanging from the ceiling contained in circular jars and illuminated by numerous candles scattered around the shop. Moving in deeper to the store, past the vacant front desk, Josie sees an array of jars sitting on wooden shelves containing a myriad of magical items: quartz crystals, rosemary, willow tree barks, sage, cloves, and numerous other mystical ingredients used by witches. Either Josie stumbled into a hipster wannabe Wicca shop or this was the real deal.

Inching in deeper, Josie finds a section with piles of books stacked on top of each other surrounding a circular table. On that very table was a cherry blossom branch encased inside a glass container. The branch stands upright and the cherry blossoms are glowing a soft pink as Josie watches a single petal falls down. Her throat instinctively constricts. Josie moves closer, her face aglow by the luminous pink flower, and reaches out to touch the cool glass imprisoning it.

“How may I assist you this evening?” Josie whips around at the unexpected sound of a person’s voice behind her.

A beautiful woman in a flowing white summer dress, no older than 30, stands before Josie in the middle of the shop with her olive skin glowing in the candle lights gleaming behind her. She’s tall, about 6 feet or so, and has long curly chestnut hair with butterfly clips adorning it. Her hazel eyes are warm and inviting, complementing the woodsy decor and atmosphere of the shop. She has freckles that travels from one cheek and crosses the bridge of her sharp nose to the other cheek like constellations. 

“I—um,” Josie is stunned speechless by her beauty. The woman smiles and moves to circle around Josie to the other end of the table and caresses her hand on the glass case holding the cherry blossom.

“The cherry blossom has many medicinal properties, ranging from being high in antioxidants to boost your immune system to an anti-aging ingredient to keep the guise of eternal beauty.” Josie sees her hazel eyes reflecting the pale pink aura the blossom is emanating. “But this is what ordinary humans know about. You, my dear, are no ordinary human now are you?” The woman stretches her arm out and grabs Josie’s hand. Suddenly Josie’s unable to control her siphoning and her hand glows red as she pulls the massive amount of magic the woman before her is bestowing. The woman’s grin widens and her eyes sparkle.

“Welcome, young siphoner,” Josie stumbles backwards as the beautiful woman approaches her and seems to be expanding in height. “I have been waiting for your arrival, Josette.”

Josie wrestles her hand out of the woman’s grip, shocked that this mysterious figure knows her name, and feels extremely faint yet full to the brim of some otherworldly and powerful magic.

“Who are you?” She asks hoarsely with her hands glued to her chest, tingling with power. There’s another gush of wind that blows the door open and a swarm of butterflies rush in. Josie ducks her head, waiting to be assaulted by some angry butterfly gang, but then opens her eyes to see them encircling the beautiful woman. Under the pink glow, Josie watches in amazement as the butterflies shift into wings on the woman’s body.

The woman flutters her wings and hovers midair. “I am Psyche, Eros’s eternal soulmate, and the Goddess of the Soul.” Josie’s mouth drops and her eyes glued to the surreal image of a goddess before her. “I have been guiding you this whole time, Josette.”

“Why?” Josie asks curiously.

“You have a soul that is so pure and magnanimous, filled with unsurmountable love, that I could hear it crying from Olympus—pleading for me to help save it.” The goddess continues and shakes her head. “But because history has forgotten about the mythical world because of Malivore, you had no knowledge of the reality of the Gods and what disease ailed you. So, I helped you by giving you this journal of those who recorded the Hanahaki disease.” Psyche then summons a journal in her hand— _the_ journal Josie found that contained entries of those inflicted with the disease.

“Your love for the tribrid is special, my child, and I could not help but intervene—you have found your soulmate, Josette.” _Hope is my soulmate_. “Soulmates are extremely rare these days.” The journal evaporates into thin air and Psyche flutters in front of Josie, her presence even more magnanimous than before, and places her hand at the center of Josie’s chest. A hot white glow exudes from Josie’s chest and Josie gasps as she sees white roses blooming inside of her. Roses sprouting from her lungs, twisting around her heart, blooming open and close. Josie’s heart stutters and she watches as one of the roses, rooted in Josie’s right lung, begins to expand. Psyche’s feet touch the ground and the butterflies disperse into thin air as the goddess returns to her mortal form. “I am so sorry, child.”

She moves back from Josie and retracts her hand, a stinging pain burning Josie’s chest, andthe image of white roses inside her disappearing. Psyche, however, holds out the palm of her hand and presents one of the white roses that fully bloomed inside of Josie. “Your time is sooner than anticipated.” Josie’s bones go cold at the statement. “The magic in you is so powerful that it has accelerated the disease.”

“How long?” Josie’s voice cracks.

“The last petal of this rose,” the flower in Psyche’s hand glowing, “will fall at midnight tomorrow. You have until then to say your goodbye’s, Josette.” 

Josie feels tears tracking down her face and she wants to fold into herself. “Please, help me. I-I don’t want to die,” Josie pleads to the goddess. “Isn’t that the cure Anteros used in the journal?” She points to the illuminating cherry blossom.

Psyche moves to hover over the cherry blossom again with a sad look on her face. “It is.”

“Then I need it! Please!” Josie cries desperately. 

“It will not work. Only Anteros has the magic to create it and,” Psyche stares at Josie and cups the white rose with both her hands and shows Josie its luminous glow, “it is the white rose that will kill you, not the cherry blossom.”

Josie feels so hopelessly distraught. “Then help me find Anteros! She can create the cure from the white rose then!”

Psyche shakes her head. “Anteros will call for you when you are ready.”

“But I am ready _now,_ ” Josie cries, voice cracking and lungs burning. “I am _dying_ tomorrow night.” The room is spinning and Josie feels hot with rage and desperation. “You said you were my guide! How is prolonging me getting the cure to my inevitable death guiding me!”

Psyche’s eyes glisten. “Do you know what happens if you take the cure, Josette?”

Josie refrains from releasing another gut-wrenching sob. Of course, she knows: “I will lose my memory of Hope and never love again.” she sniffles.

“And you are willing to forget her once more? Willing to never love anyone ever again? No magic can restore your memory or love,” Psyche reminds her.

Josie stills and remains silent, head downcast and defeated.

Psyche sighs, “The disease does not just affect you, Josette.” Josie whips her head up at Psyche with teary eyes. “If you take the cure, Hope will lose her memory of you and will never be able to love ever again. Her soul irreparably damaged.” _What?_ “You and Hope will never have existed to each other—the world you know of today will reset as if you two never crossed paths.” Josie’s knees buckle and she falls to the ground. “Taking the cure kills the thing that binds you two and will irrevocably make you strangers—both of your souls will shatter and progress a lifetime of loneliness and suffering.”

Josie shudders at the thought—the thought of making Hope lonely and loveless. “And if I don’t take the cure,” Josie chokes out. “What will happen to Hope, then?”

The Goddess looks at Josie sorrowfully. “She, like every soul you’ve touched in your lifetime, will mourn the loss of a great love. Her soul will never be fully complete, but only you will suffer the dire consequences of the disease.”

Josie laughs bitterly, “So that’s it? I just give up and die?" Is there no alternative where she can live and save both hers and Hope's soul? "There has to be another way! Magic always has a loophole!” Josie seethes.

“But this isn’t just magic, is it?” The goddess leans down and cups Josie’s face, swiping the tears running down. “The only true cure to break the curse is a love that is returned, a love that is everlasting, and a love that is unbound.” Psyche puts the white rose in Josie’s hands and stands up. “When you are ready, Anteros and I will come to you.”

“What do you—“ a violent wind bursts into the shop and Josie covers her head at the sound of shattering glass and plants toppling over. A hoard of butterflies encircles Josie, flapping their wings rapidly, creating a high pitch sound reverberating in her ear. The ground shakes violently and Josie closes her eyes from the debris accumulating in the air. Then in a flash, everything goes eerily still. After waiting a few beats in silence, Josie uncovers herself and opens her eyes to the open woods. She was no longer in Psyche’s shop—Josie is sitting in the middle of the woods with only the moon as a source of light and no sign of Psych or her shop.

Josie stares at the stemless white rose in the palm of her hands and begins to openly sob. _Why are the Gods doing this to her? Why are they being so cruel?_ If Josie takes the cure, she loses Hope and her ability to love and cursing Hope to the same fate. If Josie doesn’t take the cure, she’ll die but her love will be immortalized through the white rose and Hope will still be able to experience all the love she deserves.

Both options are fatally cruel and Josie is inextricably conflicted. But, most of all, she is crippling under the painful knowledge that tomorrow, with or without the cure, she _will_ die. Her choice already made in the back of her mind. 

The heavy weight on her heart is so crushing that Josie lays herself down on the cold Earth and clutches the white rose to her chest and violently sobs and sobs under the pale moon. She hears a howling wolf in the near distance and it should have Josie on her feet running out of the woods and back to Hope, but Josie is weak and overwhelmed and so _tired_ that standing up and moving seems impossible. So, Josie folds further into herself, dirt pressed against her cheek, wrought with despair at the revelation of her impending death and complete inability to stop it.

Over her loud sobs, Josie hears a sudden whine and a twig snapping. Josie holds in her breath and muffles her sobs, eyes still clamped closed and tears spilling from them. Then, unexpectedly, she feels a wet snout nudging at her face and a warm tongue gently licking her salty tears away. Opening her watery eyes, Josie sees hovering above her is a hazy image of a massive wolf with thick white fur and striking golden eyes—

“Hope,” Josie’s voice cracks, roses twisting her insides, and uncontrollable sobs continues to overtake her body. Hope lays down on all four and curls around Josie protectively, whining loudly into the night. The wolf rumbles, vibrating under distress at Josie's hysterical state. Josie turns into the thick fur and dampens it with her tears, one hand clutching onto the rose by her heart and the other tightly wound in white fur.

Hope, in her wolf form, holds her until Josie eventually blacks out from exhaustion.

* * *

Josie wakes to the distant sound of a voice calling out to her. There is a warm hand on her cheek, its thumb running soothing motions across her cheekbone. Josie snuggles into the soft touch and she feels safe and loved and, above all, she feels at home. Unfortunately, the voice continues to beckon her to consciousness.

Softly it calls, “Josie, wake up. We’re back.”

Josie’s eyes flutter open and her heart stutters at baby blue eyes looking at her and soft hands caressing her.

“Hope?”

The older girl smiles, “Time to wake up, Jo. We’re back at the Boarding School.”

Josie straightens in her seat, causing Hope’s soft touch to retreat, and she looks out the window to see the Salvatore Boarding School standing tall in the night.

_Was it all a dream? Does I still have time to—_

But Josie notices the stiffness in her right hand and sees that it is in a tight fist. She unfurls her taut fingers and sees the white rose that Psyche had given her—one of the many roses blooming inside her.

“You wouldn’t let go of it, even as I tried to pry it from your fingers when I carried you back to the car,” Hope informs her.

It wasn’t a dream.

Tears prick her eyes and Josie shuts them tightly trying to keep the tears from falling.

“Josie,” Hope reaches out and places her hand over Josie’s. “What happened in the woods?” Hope runs her thumb across Josie’s skin soothingly, easing her down from her dreadful and abnormally dispirited state of mind. “I was so scared when you ran off that I shifted without thinking and went looking for you in the woods. When I found you…Jo, you were laying on the ground crying—I tried to calm you down, as wolf me, but you were inconsolable. You cried to the point of exhaustion, Josie.”

Josie bites her lips, staring down at the white rose in her hand and picking at its crumpled state. “I’m sorry you had to see that, Hope.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for,” Hope softly insists. “It’s just…you really scared me, Jo. I didn’t like not knowing where you were—it felt like you just vanished out of thin air and I couldn’t find you.” Josie can feel Hope shudder slightly.

“How did you find me?” Josie wonders since she technically did vanish into another realm of sorts in Psyche’s garden.

Hope fidgets in her seat for a bit before mumbling, “Your smell.”

Josie furrows her brows, “My what?” she asks. 

The tribrid flushes and awkwardly clears her throat, “Your smell—you have a distinct smell that my wolf recognizes, I guess.” Hope shrugs. “When I shifted, I was aimlessly wandering in panic because your scent was gone. But then I caught wind of it and I followed it.” Hope looks at Josie in concern. “That’s how I tracked you and found you crying on the cold ground of the woods.”

Josie humorlessly chuckles, “Good thing you found me then. I don’t think I would have done particularly well waking up in the middle of the woods alone.”

She hears Hope take a deep breath and feels blue eyes piercing at her, not at all liking Josie's nonchalance. “Why were you crying, Josie?” Hope asks and Josie fumbles for an answer in her mind. “Josie, you know you can talk to me.” Hope interlocks their fingers and squeezes. “Whatever it is, I’m by your side. Always and forever.”

Josie's throat tightens at the false promise knowing that “always and forever” will end after tomorrow night. Knowing that she will die tomorrow night with white roses overflowing from her mouth.

So, instead of saying anything, Josie leans across the passenger seat and pulls Hope into a tight hug. Josie holds her tightly, trying to relish in the feeling of the older girl and prays that her body will remember what it felt like to be held by her soulmate. _My soulmate._ She prays to remember how Hope runs her hand up and down her back, starting from below her shoulder blade and soothingly gliding down to the middle of her back. She prays to remember the way Hope smells—not of just roses but of a garden blooming with them accented by the faint smell of Spring showers at dawn. Josie prays to remember the way she can feel Hope’s heart and her own beating in unison as she holds Hope closer.

“Thank you, Hope,” Josie says, still holding onto Hope and holding onto this blissful moment of the calm before the storm.

“For what?”

“For always being there for me—always caring even when I’m the worst person ever and especially when I don’t deserve it,” Josie exhales softly.

“Don’t say that.” She feels Hope tighten her hold on her. “You deserve everything and more, Josie,” Hope whispers and pulls back to looks at Josie seriously. “I’ll _always_ care for you, Josie, no matter what,” Hope puffs out her chest eyes flashing gold.

“I’ll always care for you, too,” Josie chokes back tears. They are so close to each other that Josie can feel Hope’s breath softly brushing against her skin, noses mere inches away from each other, and Josie fixates on Hope’s lip—the way Hope draws her lower lip in between her teeth and nibbles on it. Josie resists the urge to bring her fingers up to Hope’s lips and pull it out.

She feels herself desperately inching closer, the sound of her thrumming heart in her ear, and to her surprise Hope closes her eyes, unflinching, and—

_BAM._

Josie and Hope jump apart from each other, Josie’s heart lodged in her throat. There’s another resounding thud against the window and Josie looks behind her to see Lizzie pounding her fist against the glass and a deadly glare directed at Hope.

Hope rolls down the window and gives Lizzie a tight-lipped smile, “Lizzie.”

“Stop holding my sister hostage, Mikaelson,” Lizzie snaps. “It’s bad enough you kidnapped her and took her shopping to buy some hideous outfit for our birthday party, but now you’re keeping her locked in this car so you could make out with her.”

“We weren’t making out,” Josie and Hope say at the same time.

“Oh sorry, I forgot that you’re settling down with an anthropomorphic chia pet,” Lizzie barks and Josie notices Hope clenching her fist, ready to fight with Lizzie.

“Can you not—”

“I don’t care, it’s late,” her twin cuts Hope off. “Josie, can we go now?”Lizzie’s reminder of Landon puts more ice to the tension between Hope and Josie in the car, effectively reminding Josie where she stands with Hope and that it’s probably best to call it night. “I’m freezing, hurry up,” Lizzie whines dramatically.

Hope and Josie roll their eyes and exit the car. The tribrid hands Josie her bag, but Lizzie grabs the bag and immediately grabs Josie and starts dragging her away from Hope—not giving Josie a chance to say goodnight. Josie submits to being tugged away, prepared for Lizzie to start ranting, but then Josie remembers something that has her stopping.

Lizzie gives Josie a pointed glare and Josie smiles innocently, “Give me one second, Lizzie.”

“Josie…” Lizzie groans but loosens her tight grip as Josie untangles herself from Lizzie and starts running back to Hope. She sees Hope leaning against the car with a faraway dazed expression and only as Josie gets closer does Hope notice her.

Stopping in front of Hope, Hope pushes off the car and tilts her head. “What’s wrong, Jo?”

“I forgot something.” Josie moves closer to the tribrid and lifts both of her hands to brush Hope’s luscious auburn hair behind her ears and feels Hope stiffen immediately. But Josie proceeds to touch Hope’s still permanent elf-ears, pausing momentarily for Hope’s inquisition or rejection, and then siphons the magical curse Alyssa had put on them. In a quick second, the elf-ear prosthetics come off and Hope’s ears revert back to being normal human ears.

Josie places the prosthetics into Hope’s hands and Hope stares at her in shock, rubbing her red human ears. “You’re telling me you could have siphoned the magic away this whole entire time?” Hope groans, “You let me walk around all day with elf-ears, really?”

She shrugs playfully, “You made a really pretty elf, I forgot.” Before Hope can sputter out a protest, Josie is already running back to Lizzie.

Interlocking her arms with her twin, the two of them begin walking back into the school and towards their room.

“I can’t believe you went gallivanting all day with Hope—shopping no less!” Lizzie cries dramatically. “I would’ve taken you shopping, if you asked.”

Josie and Lizzie enters their room and Josie watches Lizzie pull out the yellow dress in the bag. “You’re going as Belle? If I’d known, I would’ve taken you to a _real_ dress shop to get a gown instead of this hipster trash store.”

As Lizzie drones on about Hope’s horrible fashion sense and the wear and tear of the fabric, Josie walks towards the arched window in the center of their room. She places the white rose on the window sill and watches it glow under the moonlight. The rose is crushed from Josie’s tight grip on it earlier and appears to be deteriorating—unsustainable outside of Josie. A petal droops from the broken rose and Josie remembers:

_“The last petal of this rose will fall at midnight tomorrow. You have until then to say your goodbye’s, Josette.”_

Josie brushes against the frail edge of the rose, its beauty and symbolic innocence is nothing but cruel irony to her. Tomorrow at midnight, a bed of roses will sprout from Josie’s mouth and suffocate her. Josie will sprout a flower with her last dying breath and all of this, right now till midnight tomorrow, will be her last moments with the people she loves.

She briefly contemplates telling Lizzie everything and finally telling their dad—she wants nothing more than to tell her parents and be pulled into their warm protective nature and their blind belief in saving her life. But Josie knows letting them know will only have her dad throw her in a cell and hope it will go away and solve itself in time. She knows Hope and Lizzie will be completely reckless idiots and put their lives in danger for Josie—even Hope can’t stop the will of the Gods.

Tomorrow at midnight Josie will die and they can’t do anything about it. There’s no point in letting everyone know now—it’s too late.

Josie knows that Lizzie will get through this—with the help of her mom, dad, MG, and Hope. Lizzie will be able to live a long life as the powerful witch Josie knows she is and she’ll marry an amazing man who loves her with all her insecurities and gives her the love she deserves and more. Their mom can finally come home and be present for all the great things in Lizzie’s life and she’ll…she’ll be there to pull Lizzie and Dad from the edge. She’s always been the best at that.

And Hope…Hope will be okay. She’ll have an epic love with Landon and he’ll take care of her. Dad, Mom, Lizzie, and even MG—they’ll all be there to love her and take care of her.

“Jo, are you listening?” Lizzie is snuggled in her bed, pouting at Josie’s silence. Josie discreetly wipes a tear away and then turns to join Lizzie in bed.

“Sorry, just thinking about everything needed to be done tomorrow.” Josie crawls next to Lizzie and they both lay down staring at the ceiling. “Now tell me, what’s the game-plan for tomorrow?” She wraps her arms around her sister and buries herself in her warmth, desperately clinging to her presence and voice, and listens as Lizzie rambles on about the lengthy checklist they need to have done before the party.

Josie closes her eyes and imagines tomorrow being a beautiful day filled with love, laughter, and family and friends. Josie dreams of the clock striking midnight and being flower-disease free—she dreams living her life after tomorrow filled with love, adventure, and all the little beautiful and nonsensical moments in between.

But as she drifts off to unconsciousness, all Josie sees are baby blue eyes and white roses speckled with blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I imagined Hope and Josie slowly dancing to Lily Allen's cover of 'Somewhere Only We Know' if that's something you're interested in knowing lol
> 
> The last chapter of Part I is a bit lengthy—would you all prefer me to separate them or have it one glorious bulk? 
> 
> Thank you so much for your lovely comments and reading! Your comments truly light up my heart during these rough times. Be safe and have a wonderful weekend <3


	4. Part I: Waltz Of The Flowers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super sorry for the delay! Work has been relentless. Also, I changed the rating because of graphic depictions. Just remember, this story will have a happy end. I promise. 
> 
> TW: graphic depictions of Josie suffering with the Hanahaki Disease and some real angsty parts that I promise to make up with more fluff in Part II.

_The fog slips through the woods, slithering along the soil as the full moon casts an eerie red glow over the terrain. Josie is wandering alone in the woods on this chilly night, a petite figure in yellow among the towering timber trees, lost and afraid. The creature of the nights emerge—the low trill of the owl, the screeching caws of the ravens, and the lonely howls of the wolf. Josie treks further into the woods, the mist rising to her waist, and she cries out for help. But no sound comes out—her voice gone and only the eerie ambient sounds of nature fill the void. Grey nimbus clouds amass and rain begins to pour down, drenching Josie from head to toe. Then, Josie hears a growl approaching behind her, fear shooting down her spine. Josie picks up her yellow gown and runs as fast as she can with her bare feet crushing the Earth under her._

_She runs and runs, adrenaline pumping hotly through her veins. But Josie hears the snarls getting closer, can feel the claws digging into the bottom edges of her dress and ripping it apart. Josie knows looking back will only slow her down, but she does so anyway. She looks over her shoulder to see a white wolf leaping in the air, fangs and claws out, and golden eyes searing with hunger—eagerly waiting to sink its teeth in Josie’s beating heart and rip it straight from her chest._

_Josie closes her eyes._

_[A flash of lightning and the crackling sounds of thunder.]_

_She opens her eyes to find herself in a glass coffin, her family and friends staring at her from the outside: Dad, Mom, Lizzie, MG, and Hope—the people she loves the dearest. Josie slams her hand against the coffin, screaming soundlessly at them. She beats her muddy fist against the glass, but then she stops and realizes that she is standing in a coffin at the pinnacle of a waterfall. She realizes that everyone is holding onto white roses, all dressed in black._

_Hope presses her hand to the glass, kissing the barrier between her and Josie. Josie watches in slow motion as Hope steps back and pushes the coffin and Josie off the edge._

_Falling and falling, Josie watches in fear as her family and friends toss white roses down and fade from her vision. Crashing and drowning, sinking into the deep blue, Josie is engulfed by water and rose petals. She’s pounding against the glass case, attempting to shatter it to pieces, but it doesn’t budge. Josie sinks further down and it’s pitch black._

_Water fills her lungs and white roses push their way down Josie’s throat._

_She can’t breathe._

_She can’t breathe._

_Josie can’t—_

“Josie, wake up!”

Josie jolts up from her bed, gasping for breath. Her hand is clutched at her chest, gripping her shirt tightly as she tries to slow down her racing heart. The room is softly lit by the morning sunshine peeking through—an ethereal haze fills the room and Josie watches the specks of dust suspended in air under the luminescent rays. To the left of the room, she sees the empty bed with their dresses laid out on them and an assortment of accessories scattered across. Josie feels a hand on her arm and looks down to see Lizzie curled beside her, looking up at her with a worried expression.

Lizzie draws soothing circles on her arm, grounding Josie back to reality. “You were having a nightmare.”

A nightmare. That's all it was. _It wasn't real._

“Was it scary? I woke up because you were thrashing around and I could feel you panicking in your dream," Lizzie asks sleepily.

Josie sighs in relief and holds Lizzie’s hand. “I’m okay, don’t worry.” Lizzie scoots closer, biting her lip in worry. Josie then, remembering what today was, moves to get up and walk over to her desk to pull out a small velvet box with a yellow ribbon on top. Sitting down, cross-legged, Josie holds out the gift to her twin.

“I know we said we wouldn’t get each other anything…but I couldn’t resist. Happy birthday, Lizzie.” Her twin squeals and moves to sit up quickly _—_ all signs of sleep leaving her. Lizzie quickly opens her present, overflowing with glee as her blonde hair radiates in the morning light.

Lizzie stills and gasps softly when she sees her present. She pulls out a golden necklace with a rainbow moonstone pendant. Holding it up in the light, Lizzie watches in awe as the moonstone refracts the sunlight and the pendant shimmers to reveal a gemini constellation etched into the stone.

“It’s beautiful, Josie.” Josie motions for Lizzie to turn around so she can put the necklace on for her. Josie had found it when she was out shopping with Hope and knew instantly how beautiful it would look on Lizzie. With how loving and caring Lizzie has been recently, far from the chaotic and demanding twin she’s used to, Josie wanted to give her something special—she wanted to give Lizzie a piece of her to remember her by.

“Why the gemini constellation though?” Lizzie turns around, the moonstone resting just below her collarbones, and looks at Josie curiously. “Our zodiac sign is not the gemini, Josie.”

“Well, we are the last remaining witches of the gemini coven.” Lizzie groans at the reminder. “But it’s also because you are my other half, Lizzie, and my best friend,” Josie whispers. “No matter what, I’ll always be a part of you.”

Lizzie fondly traces the stone and then gently holds it in her hands; Josie watches as Lizzie’s hands glow, siphoning the magic from the stone. “I also had it charmed, with Hope’s help, so you can siphon magic from it whenever you need it.”

Lizzie’s eyes shimmer with excitement. “It’s magical?”

Josie nods. “A source of powerful magic from the great tribrid Hope Mikaelson.” Josie laughs at Lizzie’s disgusted face. “It’ll keep you safe and protect you when I can’t.”

Lizzie smiles mischievously as she whispers a spell quietly and a tiny ball of flame dances in the palm of her hand. “I didn’t get you a gift, but will you accept my love in this tiny ball of flame.”

Josie scoffs, “That’s a pretty small representation of your love for me.”

“Well, sorry, I’m not a pyro like you and don’t have it in me to burn down the school today to show you how much I love you.”Josie rolls her eyes and pushes her twin, extinguishing the tiny flame from Lizzie’s hand. “But, seriously, I love it and I love you.” Lizzie throws her arms around Josie and pulls her in for a tight hug.

“I do feel bad that I didn’t get you anything this year, though,” Lizzie mumbles.

Josie shakes her head. “It’s fine, you just owe me a million plus one next year.” Lizzie laughs and Josie holds Lizzie tightly, holding onto this moment and the soft vibrations of Lizzie's laughter rumbling through her.

The door opens as her dad pokes his head through. “Good morning, my beautiful daughters," He sings as he steps through with his hands in his jean pockets. “Are you ready for your special birthday breakfast?”

Josie and Lizzie pull apart and nod energetically, both filled with excitement of having their annual homemade stacks of fluffy blueberry pancakes, beignets, and mixed berry french toast.

“But where’s our birthday present?” Lizzie crosses her arms, clearly expecting to be showered with presents from their dad.

“Of course, the birthday present!” their dad feigns surprise. “How could I forget?” Their dad opens the door wider and smiles. “I didn’t get you much this year, but I think you’ll like this one.”

The door swings open and in walks their mom, Caroline Forbes—beautiful and ageless as ever—with her arms open and a dazzlingly smile towards them.

“Mom!” Lizzie and Josie scream simultaneously and scramble off the bed to throw themselves into their mom’s arms.

“Happy birthday, my beautiful, beautiful girls!” Their mom squeezes them tightly, rocking them back and forth affectionately, and Josie is overwhelmed by emotions—overwhelmed by the sudden presence of her mom while basking in her safe and unconditionally loving arms. Overwhelmed by the thought that this might be the last time Josie will see her mom and be held by her mom. Josie and Lizzie pull back, Lizzie beaming exuberantly at their mom, while Josie is openly crying—devastatingly happy yet tragically melancholic.

“Josie, what’s wrong?” Her mom looks at her with worry and catches a falling tear.

Josie shakes the somber thoughts away and tries not to ruin the happy mood with her own woes. “I’m—I’m just so happy you’re here,” Josie shakily says. “I—we really missed you.”

“I really missed you girls, too. But I’m here now.” Her mom kisses her forehead and squeezes Lizzie and Josie into her arms again, this time their dad joining in the group hug.

Josie is still crying softly, but the love and happiness she feels in this warm embrace overshadows the unbearable grief she will feel much later.

She chooses to pretend that today is another day; another beautiful day to live.

* * *

Josie spends a blissful morning with her family eating their special homemade breakfast—a tradition they were not able to have to its fullest with their mom on the search across Europe for the cure to the merge. She listens to Lizzie and her mom gushing over the latest fashion trends, Lizzie adoringly hanging on every word her mom says while Josie and her dad sit back, content to listen and watch them radiate the room as always.

Josie is chewing on another delicious piece of her mom’s fluffy blueberry pancakes, in utter bliss of this peaceful moment, when her mom asks: “Josie, what are you dressing up as for tonight?” Eager to answer, Josie chews faster and swallows. But when she opens her mouth no words escape and she gasps for air. 

Josie weakly coughs and feels the lump of pancakes blocking her airway. She tries to swallow, but it is lodged in her throat _—_ a rose vine curling around it and petals keeping it from going down. Josie starts choking, hand around her throat, and desperately gasps for some air.

“Jo!” She hears Lizzie cry out.

Josie starts to violently cough and cough, her family all running out of their seats and crowding her. She feels her dad about to do the Heimlich when her mom slaps her back with a little vampire strength and the glob of pancakes (white rose petals clumped inside it) is extricated. 

Her mom is running a soothing hand down her back as Josie weakly coughs and Lizzie is gripping her hand, trembling slightly. Josie moves to sit back in her chair and gratefully takes the glass of water her dad hands her.

Cool water runs down her dry and scratchy throat, as she croaks out an apology. Josie's whole family, still hovering by her closely, are looking at her in concern. She can also read the demand in Lizzie’s eyes to tell their mom and dad about the situation. But Josie shakes her head and laughs softly, “I must’ve really missed your pancakes, Mom, because apparently I forgot how to chew.”

She watches as the tension leaves from everyone’s shoulders. Her mom chuckles and puts her hand over Josie’s affectionately. “Well, please eat slowly, sweetie. I’ll be making you a lot more pancakes from now on, so no need to rush.”

Lizzie, who was glaring at Josie’s evasion, whips her head and looks at their mom with surprise. “Does that mean you’re coming home? For good?”

Her mom nods with a big smile and Lizzie squeals and throws herself at their mom. “What about searching for the cure to the merge?” Josie stands up, happy at the news but also confused.

“Your Mom and I have been talking,” her Dad starts. “We decided it would be best not to waste anymore precious memories with you girls. We want to both be in your lives and watch you grow even more beautiful and smarter than you are right now.” He puts his arm around her shoulder and pulls Josie in close. “Plus, us working together and finding the cure is better than us being separate. We’re a united force: me, your mom, and you girls—we can fight anything that comes our way as a family.”

They all form a group hug, ecstatic at the news. But, Josie feels herself trembling. Overjoyed at the news and then disheartened when she remembers that she won’t be able to experience her mom finally being back home—finally being able to be a whole family again—because of the curse on her.

Her dad saying how they can fight anything as long as they’re together tempts Josie into revealing the truth. But she knows she can’t—Josie is the immovable object and the disease is an unstoppable force. No one can stop it.

Someone in the background clears their throat, pulling Josie from her thoughts and from the group hug to see Hope standing awkwardly at the entryway.

“Hey, uh, there’s a truck full of tables and other things Lizzie ordered for the party tonight and they need a signature from the Headmaster,” Hope pointedly says towards her dad. 

“Oh, they’re here! That means we need to get started on putting the final touches for tonight!” Lizzie excitedly jumps up. “Mom, please help me. I need your impeccable taste to guide me.”

Her mom laughs and joins arms with Lizzie, “Of course, sweetie. It’s your 17th birthday, it has to be epic.” They all move to leave, Josie following closely behind them when Hope steps in front of her.

“Can I actually borrow Josie for the day?” the tribrid asks shyly.

Instinctively, Josie nods without even questioning as to why Hope wants her—her body and soul desperately yearning for her soulmate.

“Of course, Hope.” Her dad says, always trusting Hope to protect Lizzie and Josie.

“Absolutely not,” Lizzie barks over him and moves to step in front of Josie protectively. “You had all day with her yesterday, Mikaelson. Who knows how long you’ll keep her hostage this time.” Hope rolls her eyes at Lizzie sending death glares at her. “Plus, I need Josie’s help. We have so much to do today and we’ll need to get ready together and—”

“I’ll bring her back in time to get ready for the party,” Hope promises.

“Lizzie, I’ll help you with the rest of the party chores,” her mom steps in and gives Hope a knowing smile. “As long as Josie is okay with it, take all the time you need with my sweet girl.”

“But, Jo…” Lizzie whines.

Josie affectionately squeezes her twin’s hand, “I’ll be fine, don’t worry. Now go make this party epic with Mom.”

Lizzie glances between Josie and Hope before relenting. “You and my sister better be back at the room by 5 to get ready for the party. A minute after and I’ll _incendia_ your ass,” Lizzie hisses.

Her mom rolls her eyes and drags Lizzie away and her dad kisses Josie on the forehead. “Have fun, honey.” He looks at Hope with his “fatherly” glare and stern voice, “No shenanigans, Hope.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Hope waves him away and rolls her eyes.

Her dad chuckles and then leaves in the same direction as Lizzie and her mom, leaving Hope and Josie alone.

“You want to borrow me for the day?” Josie brows quirked.

Hope gives her lopsided smile, “Is that okay?”

“It’s more than okay,” Josie whispers softly. “What do you have planned?”

* * *

The sun is glaring high in the sky, its heat beating down on Josie and Hope as they trek deep into the woods. Josie is swatting the gnats buzzing around her and carefully treading over knobby roots as she tries to keep pace with Hope.

“So your plan was to take me hiking on my birthday?” Josie ducks under a low branch and skips her way to Hope’s side. “Got to say, I definitely wasn’t expecting this.”

“Stop complaining,” Hope laughs at Josie’s childish whining. “This is only part 1 out of 3 of what I got you.” Josie groans and really hopes it doesn’t involve more hiking, she loves the girl, but she’s tired. “We’re almost there.”

As they move farther into the woods, the trees multiply and stretch high into the sky; the leaves and moss expanding its coverage—a vibrant sea of lush green against the reddish-brown tree barks. Walking further, Josie suddenly hears the rushing water, the chirping birds, and the croaking frogs. 

“We’re here,” a sound of wondrous amazement laces Hope’s voice and Josie can understand why.

Before them is a tall waterfall, water rushing from its great height and plunging down the mountain with a voracious pool at the bottom. The coolness of the waterfall mists against her burning skin, a waft of spring water easing her down from the heat of high noon. Josie inches closer, feet squishing against the deep green grass, and takes in the majestic sight of nature.

“I found this place one night a couple of years ago,” Hope narrates. “It was a few months after my dad died and I was shifting almost nightly.” Josie moves close to Hope, shoulders brushing and fingers ghosting next to each other, offering a comforting presence knowing how hard it is for Hope to talk about her dad. “I was in so much pain and felt so alone,” Hope’s voice cracks. “I ran so far deep into the woods thinking that if I could go far enough that the pain would go away. Then I stumbled upon this place. It became a solace for me, my own escape to paradise.” Their pinkies hook onto each other and Hope lets out a deep breath. “No one really knows about this place and I’ve never brought anyone here—until now.”

Josie chest swells with pride, honored that Hope is sharing such an intimate and private space with her and her alone. Her heart warms at the knowledge that Josie is the only person Hope has invited to this piece of paradise.

“I’m honored, Hope,” Josie looks up at the waterfall. “It’s so beautiful.”

Hope moves towards the waterfall, staring at Josie and walking backwards, a playful grin lighting up her face. “That’s not the best part. Follow me,” Hope rushes with glee.

Josie, helplessly in love and taken away with how free Hope is right now, hurries to catch up with her soulmate. She follows as Hope rounds the pool of water, deftly climbing over protruding rocks, and stands on a flat rock before the waterfall. The roaring sound of the waterfall crashing against the rocks overpowers the sound of their voices as Hope’s yells fails to reach Josie’s ears. Hope then starts to hilariously pantomime to Josie, making wild arm gestures over her head and pointing behind the waterfall. Josie shakes her head and laughs at Hope’s exaggerated motions, not understanding Hope at all. Hope shakes her head and grabs Josie’s hand, pulling her in close, and hovers her other hand over their heads. Josie watches as Hope mouths a countdown and then instantly pulls her into the belly of the waterfall.

Josie lets out a squeal and closes her eyes, clutching onto Hope’s arms and preparing herself to be completely soaked by the end. But the rush of water that is supposed to drench her never comes. When she only feels a cool mist around her, Josie opens her eyes to see Hope smirking at her equally as dry. As they stand beneath the waterfall, Josie realizes Hope has created an invisible shield above them as the center of the waterfall splits around them.

Passing through the waterfall and into the cave behind it, Josie clears her throat and reluctantly lets go of Hope, face flushed red from her childish squeal earlier. Hope chuckles and nods her head towards the cave, gesturing for Josie to follow her.

“The ground is slippery, so be careful,” Hope’s voice echoes against the cave walls. Josie treads carefully behind Hope, looking up in wonderment at the stalactites covered in moss and the calming metronomic drips of water falling from them. There’s a light coming from the other end of the tunnel and it becomes nearly blinding the closer Josie and Hope near it. Josie shields her eyes with her hand as she walks toward the light and her breath nearly stops when the landscape in front of her becomes visible.

Behind the waterfall, pass the cave, is a bustling meadow of wildflowers at the bottom of a sinkhole. Trees branching out from the walls and nearly winding to the top with their thick green leaves filtering the light from above.

“Take off your shoes,” Hope tells Josie and immediately kicks off her boots. The tribrid, now barefoot, rushes into the meadow freely.

“Well, what do you think?” Hope stands in the center of the sinkhole, arms stretched out, basking in the warmth of the sun and encased in a golden halo.

Josie swears that Hope is a divinity crafted by the Gods—Aphrodite must be jealous of her astound beauty.

She quickly kicks off her sneakers and steps forward, one foot pressing against the cool grass and imprinting her footprint on the soft soil. As a siphoner, Josie never fully felt the connection witches had with nature; her source was always from others—from magic already pulled from nature and already corrupted by another witch. But, standing here she _feels_ the magic. Josie can feel it from the sun hanging above her, kissing her skin gently from head to toe. She can feel it as she digs her toes deep into the soil and the rush of magic from the tangled roots beneath them. Josie can smell the magic from the flowers and hear it from the songbirds nesting above them.

Josie never understood that majestic power from nature, but here with Hope she’s never felt so connected to it and so overfilled with magic—Josie thinks a lot of it has to do with Hope.

“Hope…this place is breathtaking.” Josie steps closer to Hope. Hope is softly kneeling down by a small patch of white roses in the middle of the meadow—a stark contrast to the myriad of vibrant rainbow of wildflowers around them.

“I planted these flowers a few years ago. I was always fond of white roses,” Hope tells Josie, but Josie already knew that. “My Aunt Freya told me a silly story once: if you plant a flower, shower it with love and devotion, you can make a wish and that wish will come true.” Josie sits down by Hope, enamored by the wistful expression on the auburn-haired girl’s face. “I was kid, a kid who lost both of her parents, and I wanted a family again more than anything. So I came here and planted white roses, wishing and wishing each time I came that one day I can have a family again—I kept wishing to not be alone anymore and to just have someone, _anyone,_ to love me again.”

Hope gently caresses the white petals and delicately pulls out one of the roses.

“When my wish didn’t come true, I grew older and jaded and I forgot about all of this,” Hope says sadly. “But recently, I started coming back here more and more. Not because I was sad or lonely, but because I realized my wish came true.” Hope gazes deeply into Josie’s eyes and Josie feels the blueness of Hope’s eyes pulling her into a riptide. “My wish came true because of you, Josie.” Hope picks at the thorns, removing them one by one. “You were my first _real_ friend—the only person who kept trying to help me even when we weren’t friends. I have a family, friends, and people who genuinely love me because of you.” Hope holds out the white rose to Josie and Josie nearly sobs at the irony of it all—Hope gifting her the very flower that will kill her tonight.

Josie shakes her head, “Your wish came true because you’re extraordinary, Hope. It came true because you’re selfless, giving, and loyal. You have one of the biggest hearts there is and it’s hard for people not to fall in love with you,” Josie argues, a confession nearly bursting from the tip of her tongue.

Hope chuckles, “How did you turn around me complimenting you about me? You got to stop that, Jo.” She places the thornless white rose into Josie’s hand and then Hope covers her own hands over Josie’s, firmly keeping the rose in place.

And in this private world between the two of them, Josie feels a glimmer of hope. A silver lining in the dark storms that awaits her. The way Hope is looking at her, holding her hands with such delicate care, and showering Josie with a love she’s never felt before.

“I wanted to share this place with you because it’s equally yours as it is mine. I planted these roses, but you made them bloom—you gave me everything I could have wished for,” Hope confesses and Josie knows she’s crying now.

Josie has a sliver of hope that just maybe, just maybe Hope feels the same. Her heart roars and the soft petals of the roses inside of her slowly fall.

“Happy Birthday, Josie.” The white rose begins to glow as Hope whispers an incantation and the rose flares open, blooming to its fullest, to reveal a necklace in the center. Hope lifts the silver chain from the rose and dangles it front of Josie to reveal a silver rose pendant, a white diamond at the core.

“This is part 2 out of 3 of what I have for you,” Hope lovingly smiles at Josie and holds the beautiful necklace out to Josie.

Josie can taste the salt from the tears falling down her face and her heart is bursting with love. And she’s weak, so weak, with hope—hope that she might just get her wish come true.

“I’m in love with you,” Josie confesses, throwing caution to the wind. She’s trembling and her body is buzzing with emotions—emotions that are warring to escape from Josie’s mouth, desperate to finally be free.

“What?” Hope goes stiff and her face stunned.

Josie shudders, but rushes on, unable to stop now that she has opened the gates. “I’m completely, desperately, irrevocably in love with you, Hope Andrea Mikaelson,” she confesses, a heavy weight lifted off her chest. “I’ve been in love with you since you slumped your ways into Salvatore with your mom—since you first said my name and then bumped my shoulder as you ran away embarrassed about gods knows what. I’ve been in love with you since you sat next to me in Intro to Magical History and copied my notes—I was so in love with you to the point I burnt down your room,” Josie chuckles wetly, tears clouding her vision and roses bursting inside of her.

“Josie, wait—I…I” Hope tries to stop her but Josie can’t.

There’s so much she has to say before it’s too late.

“I am in love with the way you care so much about people and how you stupidly try to pretend you don’t. I am in love with the way you fight and fight for the world even when it has been utterly cruel and unkind to you. I am in love with the way you know how to foxtrot from one second and then waltz me away to the next.I am in love with every little gasp you make when I read you a story and I am absolutely in love with the way your eyes droop every time you try to stay awake when I do…”

Hope is biting her lips and the necklace falls from her hands. “Josie, stop. Please, stop.”

“…I am in love with the way you make the room brim with literal _hope_ when you walk in to save the day. I am in love with how every time we’re together I feel as if I am overfilled with magic of my own—magic coursing through my veins pumping straight to my heart!” Josie chokes out, voice cracking with emotions.

Hope's blue eyes shine with tears. “I’m sorry,” she chokes out.

With that, that silver lining of hope vanishes with Josie’s beating heart.

“I _love_ you,” Josie’s voice breaking with one last declaration. Hope’s sobs and silence is deafening and Josie takes a deep breath. “But you don’t love me, do you?” Josie cries, “Not in the way I love you.”

Hope sharply inhales and sobs, “I’m _so_ sorry, Josie.” The crack on her heart splits open and Josie…Josie takes a step back, painfully undone. Hope tries to step towards her slowly, but Josie keeps stepping back—unable to hold it in any longer. “I didn’t know, Josie…I don’t know. I—I can’t.”

The pain is unbearable, despite knowing this was the answer she would get—despite knowing the very reason she is dying is because Hope isn’t in love with her. But transported to this hidden magical place Hope brought her to and Hope staring at Josie like she was special…she had hope. Foolishly, she had hope. With a painful exhale, Josie feels the magic leave her body as reality sets in dimmer than before. Inside of her, Josie can feel the flowers blooming and blooming, ripe with desire to escape.

“I—I understand,” Josie painfully lets out. “I just needed you to know—selfishly, I wanted you to know even though I knew what your answer would be.” She drops the white rose on the ground and turns away from Hope, the roses inside her twisting their way up with their unrelenting vice grip on her heart and lungs.

“Josie, I—“ and Josie doesn’t want to hear it—can’t keep the calm, collected and understanding facade any longer. Because it hurts, it hurts to be near Hope right now and so she runs away from her greatest love and greatest heartbreak—from a soulmate that isn’t meant to be.

“Wait, don’t go, Josie! Please,” Hope cries out but Josie keeps running and running.

Running barefoot, she glides through the cave and thrusts herself through the waterfall, soaked and gagging with water in her lungs as she exits. But the heavy weight of her drenched clothes doesn’t stop Josie’s ache to get away—the ache to crawl underground and have the weight of the cold Earth crush her, but she’s sure that its crushing weight won’t compare to the pain she feels now.

The way her soul feels as if’s ripped in two and her dying beating broken heart pushing against her breastbone wanting to gush out and be put out of its misery.

Josie wonders if the Gods can hear her now—if they can hear her pain and if they’re simply looking down at her on their thrones drinking ambrosia, taking delight in her pain.

She runs and runs, her naked feet blistering with sores and cuts, and blood dripping from her nose. Josie comes to a screeching halt, sick to her stomach with nausea and pain. The pain tearing through her as she falls to her knees and lets the blood and bile rush out with a fully bloomed white rose riding out on their waves. Josie twists her hand on the soil, pulling at the twigs and roots, as she braces through the searing pain coursing through her once more. She heaves another rose, green slime oozing out, and Josie feels utterly faint. Her throat is raw and her insides are coiling with tension, flesh taut and glistening. Spitting the last of the petals, Josie wobbles up on her weak legs and tries to start running again. But she’s too weak. Limping and dragging her feet against the dirt until her ankle twists against a root and Josie collapses.

Josie coughs and coughs until all the blood and mucus stuck in throat is cleared and faces heavenward with disdain. “Why are you doing this to me?” Josie cries to the Gods and pounds her fist on the ground, over and over again. Her fist throbbing, splinters prickling her knuckles, Josie grits her teeth from screaming out—muffling her sobs as best as she can. “I’m already in _so_ much _fucking_ pain,” she roars.

Another stabbing pain guts Josie—a phantom saber plunging through her back and exiting her core—and she coughs out thick clots of blood. Violently she shudders, the salt from her tears intermingling with the iron in her mouth. Josie doesn’t know if she can withstand this pain any longer. She’s laying face down on the sodden ground of the woods, barely holding it together, when she hears a high-pitch hum and rapid fluttering of wings.

Through her watery vision, a floating ball of light hovers over her and Josie recognizes it as another fairy—presumably one of Anteros fairies. They flicker their light wildly around Josie, staring despondently at her, and then irately clicks their tongue at Josie. The fairy pushes at Josie’s cheeks, talons pinching her skin, and attempts to get her to stand up.

But Josie is exhausted—her heart and bones heavy with it. Josie just wants the pain to stop and she trembles as she feels another episode ripple through her.

She reaches out at the fairy and they recoil at Josie’s attempt to grab them. “T-take me to her,” Josie pleads hoarsely. “Please, take me to Anteros. I’m ready now.” The sprite spins in the air and then poofs out of existence and thus taking Josie’s salvation with them. “No, please!” she cries out desperate to make the pain stop.

But then a white butterfly lands on Josie’s finger and a waft of honeysuckle flowers fill the air as a soft breeze passes through. With the breeze, a swarm of butterflies fly in and encircle Josie in a whirlwind of colors. Caked in dirt and blood, Josie watches as Psyche walks through the butterfly cyclone and kneels down to her.

Psyche is wearing a white gown and a black cloak, her hazel eyes glistening with tears at Josie folding in from the pain of the curse. “Josette,” Psyche cradles Josie’s face. “My sweet, child.” The goddess wipes the dirt and tears smeared across Josie’s face and Josie angers at the endearing touch.

“Why are you here Psyche?” Josie cries bitterly and slaps Psyche’s hand away. Biting through the pain, Josie stumbles up to her feet and leans weakly against a tree. “What kind of guidance can you give me at this point? My heart is broken, figuratively and literally, and I’m _still_ dying at midnight.” Josie knows it is unfair to place all her anger on the goddess who has done nothing but helped Josie so far, but Josie feels so angry at all the Gods at the moment. So angry for cursing her with this disease.

Psyche’s wings flutter down, disappointed. “I am here merely as a messenger. Anteros says you are ready and, if you desire, I can take you to her now.” With the pain subsiding, Josie’s mind is clearer. If she were to meet Anteros now, that means Anteros has the cure for her. “But if you go to Anteros now, you will not be able to return—the flowers blooming are accelerating at your confession and your soul is shattering. Anteros needs to collect your soul before it’s too late.”

_Too late for what?_

Josie then screeches out and clutches her torso in pain—Psyche rushes to catch her from falling and Josie dizzyingly sees two of Psyche and she knows that the Fates are about to cut the cord soon.

The goddess flutters her wings and looks down at Josie in silent contemplation. She leans Josie against the tree and cradles her face. “You still have time, Josette—I can give you a little more time if you are not ready.” Psyche conjures a projection of the white rose sitting on her window sill, fallen petals scattered around it, shriveling quickly.

Josie squeezes her eyes close and she thinks of Lizzie, her mom, her dad, MG…and Hope. Josie isn’t ready to go yet—she can’t bear it if she left without saying goodbye…can’t bear to leave her last memory with them like _this._

“I—I’m not ready yet,” Josie whimpers. “But, I—I can’t take this pain anymore,” Josie sobs desperately and begs Psyche. “It hurts _so_ much, Psyche. Please, make it stop.” Josie convulses, her body preparing for another episode of purging full-bloomed roses.

“Oh my darling,” Psyche coos and pulls out a vial filled with amber liquid. “Drink this, it will ease your pain.” She brings the vial to Josie’s lips and the taste of honey and berries smoothly drips down her throat. Psyche then pulls out a cube-shaped item wrapped in a golden cloth and unwraps it to reveal a golden pastry. She plucks a piece of it and gently feeds it to Josie. Josie chews slowly, a savory taste of butter and graham crackers melts in her mouth. As she swallows it, the white hot searing pain begins to simmer down and the tight knots in her stomach unwind. The flowers crushing her rib cage and lungs slacken their relentless pressure and Josie can finally breathe easily again. Despite being alleviated from the crushing pain of the flowers inside her, Josie’s heart still feels devastatingly broken to pieces.

“What did you give me?” Josie’s wipes the blood from her lips with the soggy sleeve of her yellow cardigan.

“Just something to ease your pain,” Psyche evades. “It will momentarily keep the flowers dormant and the pain more manageable.” Josie stands up slowly, Psyche helping her balance herself. “With it, I have given you more time to say your goodbye’s,” the goddess says remorsefully.

With the pain subsiding, Josie feels guilty for snapping at Psyche and feels grateful for the goddess helping her. “Thank you,” she earnestly says.

Psyche nods and waves her hand to remove the blood and dirt that caked Josie’s clothes—cleaning and drying Josie’s shattered appearance from head to toe. “I will come to collect you shortly before midnight and take you to Anteros then.” Psyche flutters her wings and hovers in the air before Josie. “Your confession was brave, Josette. Embrace that bravery more,” Psyche advises and then disintegrates into a million butterflies flittering away in the air.

Left alone, Josie breathes deeply and wipes her tears away. The potion and the pastry Psyche had given her had relieved the immense pain Josie was in and now she is only left with a melancholic heart from Hope’s rejection and a keen awareness these were truly her last moments alive.

“Josie?”

Josie turns around to see MG standing before her. “MG? What are you doing out here?” she says, clearing her throat slightly.

“I was out looking for you, actually.” MG steps closer. “Lizzie wanted me to find you immediately—she wouldn’t tell anyone why, only that she needed you back.” Josie closes her eyes with remorse and regret, Lizzie must’ve felt what Josie was going through. She just hope Lizzie isn’t getting the full effect of it—she can’t stand being the one causing that much pain to her sister.

“Is she okay?” Josie says fearfully.

“She’s fine, just very on edge right now.” MG shrugs. “She also says I need to kick Hope’s ass?” Josie chuckles at MG’s scared look. “Why would she say that? Do you need me to?” MG scratches his head and steps closer. “I don’t think I can take her if I’m honest, but if she hurt you—“

Josie shakes her head. “No kicking anyone’s ass today, please.” She squeezes MG’s hand and smiles weakly at him. “We should head back before Lizzie gets worried,” she says looking at the slow descent of the sun. MG then kneels down and gestures for Josie to hop on. “Uh, we could always walk…”

“No time, Jo. Lizzie seemed pretty frazzled and I did promise her I would hurry,” MG convinces.

“Fine,” Josie huffs and climbs onto MG’s back. “Just give me a warning before you—“ Josie doesn’t get a chance to finish her sentence as he vamps speeds away and she’s tightly wrapping her arms around his neck with her eyes shut.

In a flash, they’re back in her dorm room and not a sign of Lizzie there. “Huh, she told me to bring you here.”

“I should probably go look for her,” Josie sighs and climbs off MG's back. “Thanks for finding me, MG. You’re a great friend and…you’re really a great guy for Lizzie.” MG smiles, scuffing his Jordans bashfully against the floor.

“Well, I—I mean you know I love her,” he says. “I’d do anything for her—and you too! You’re my best friend, Jo. I love you both and I’ll do anything for my girls,” MG says sweetly.

“I know,” she says reverently. “That’s why you’re the perfect guy for my sister and I hope she realizes it soon.” Josie throws her arms around MG, relishing in this rare quiet moment with her best friend, and the montage of memories of them growing up together plays through her head: MG and her reading comic books all night long, playing pranks together and then always cleaning up the mess together after said ridiculous pranks. She remembers how understanding MG was when she told him she was pansexual—the first person Josie told before Lizzie. He’s her best friend and she’s going to miss all his goofiness and super hero spiels.

“Hey, Josie,” MG pulls back, a concerned look on his face. “What’s wrong?”

Josie swallows back the tears, it’s supposed to be a happy day. “Nothing,” she lies.

MG shakes his head, not buying it. “Josie…is this about you being in love with Hope?” Josie inhales sharply. Of course her best friend would know. MG knew what loving someone who didn’t feel the same looked like—he was the image for the definition of pining. I guess he and Josie are now.

“I’m that obvious?” she gives him a wry smile and he nods sadly. “Well, not obvious enough where Hope was surprised when I confessed,” she laughs sadly. MG holds her hand comfortingly and Josie takes a deep breath and looks at her best friend sincerely. “MG, I need you to promise me something.”

“Anything,” he answers with no hesitation.

“Promise me that one day you’ll finally tell Lizzie how you feel—no showmanship or swag, just tell her those three words,” She tells him and MG looks confused. “And promise me that whatever decision she makes, and hopefully it’s not the stupid one, you’ll always love her and care for her.”

MG scrunches his eyebrows, but nevertheless he says, “I’ll _always_ love Lizzie. Whatever way she’ll have me, I’ll always love her and be there when she needs me.”

Another weight lifts off her heavy breaking heart, knowing Lizzie will be taken care of and loved in the best way possible with MG, puts Josie to ease.

“Good,” she sighs and kisses his hands. “You and Lizzie deserve so much love in the world and I can’t wait until she finally opens her eyes and sees it.”

MG gently caresses Josie’s cheek and he stares at her with his warm brown eyes. “Hope is an idiot for not loving you, Josie.”

“And yet I’ll love her till my dying breath and after, just like I know you will with Lizzie.” MG nods, sadly attuned to the pain Josie is going through. Josie shakes her head and laughs, “Let’s stop all this seriousness, now. It’s supposed to be a happy day,” Josie half-heartedly punches MG’s shoulder, laughing at his faux hurt face. “Can we just keep this between us and make this the birthday party ever?” She waits in brief silence before MG gives her a crushing hug and lifts her up from the ground.

“This will be the _best_ party ever, Jo.” He puts her down with his usual contagious smile and affectionate aura. Josie will miss his warm hugs and smiles. “We’re going to dance: All. Night. Long,” MG emphasizes and does the robot.

“Dork,” she lets out a hearty laugh at his antics. At that very moment, Lizzie comes rushing in the room with blood-shot eyes and both her and MG instantly freeze.

Lizzie wipes her tears angrily and stands up straight. “MG, leave. I need to talk to my stubborn sister,” her twin says through gritted teeth.

He takes a moment to think but then slowly nods. “If you’re sure…”

“I’ll be fine,” Josie assures him and pulls him into another crushing hug that feels like that last. “Thank you, MG.” Josie pulls back and ruffles his hair one last time.

“Jo, not the hair!” He yelps and then vamps out of the room.

The door closes shut and Lizzie stomps towards her and inspects her. “What happened?” she cries.

“Lizzie, I’m—“

“Don’t say you’re fine!” Josie jumps at Lizzie screaming. “I’m your twin, remember? I can feel when something’s off and something has been off for _days,_ ” Lizzie seethes. “We promised no secrets.” Josie looks down, not knowing how to face Lizzie. “I felt you fading—my body was cold and it felt like you were just gone _,_ ” Lizzie cries and grabs Josie’s hands. “Jo, please, let me in.”

“I—I’m,” _I’m dying, Lizzie,_ Josie wants to say. But she swallows thickly and stares at the ceiling, a tear falling down, and opts for another truth: “I confessed to Hope and now I’m more heartbroken than I already was,” she laughs weakly. “I finally told her how I felt…and I knew she would never love me, but wishful thinking you know?” Lizzie pulls her into a warm hug and kisses the side of her head affectionately. “I guess the flower in me acted up at the rejection, but the pain is over now,” her voice trembles. 

“I’ll set her on fire for you,” Lizzie whispers and Josie chuckles.

"I'm better at the fire spells, Lizzie."

Lizzie pulls back. “I'll still do it," her twin says confidently. "I can revoke her invitation tonight?”

Josie shakes her head, “No, don’t.” Lizzie looks resolute on her actions, but Josie won’t have this. Not on her last day. “I want her there, Lizzie. I still love her and…her not loving me isn’t her fault.”

“You’re too selfless, Josie. When are you going to learn to take care of yourself?” Lizzie groans.

“I have you for that,” Josie says wistfully.

Lizzie rolls her eyes and interlocks their arms. “I’m not always going to be there for you, Jo.” Josie feels the pang of the statement, the cruel irony of it, and blinks away her tears. “But you bet I can kick some tribrid ass tonight.”

Josie laughs at Lizzie’s protective antics. “Promise me no fighting with Hope tonight. I want this to be a magical drama-free night,” she begs her sister. “I want to escape into this fantasy world you’ve created with all the people we love—heartbreakers included.”

“Fine.” Lizzie crosses her arms and then says, “But tomorrow, the gloves are off.” Josie laughs and nods her head at that—tomorrow all Josie’s lie will come undone and she just hope Lizzie can forgive her.

There’s a knock on the door and Josie and Lizzie turn to see their mom pushing open the door with a big box.

“Josie, sweetie, this came for you.” Her mom hands her the package wrapped in a fancy bow. Josie takes the box and sets it on the bed, Lizzie and her mom hovering over her shoulder as she unwraps it.

Opening the gift, inside reveals a beautiful golden evening gown—its silky fabric is soft under her touch and shimmers with extravagance. Josie plucks the card on top of it and it reads:

_Part 3 out of 3. Not even Belle can compare to your beauty—Always and forever, Hope Mikaelson._

Josie bites her lips and holds the card close to her heart—filled to brim with the love Hope wanted to shower her with on her birthday. A part of Josie wishes she didn’t confess to Hope and just kept up the fantasy of today, but her heart couldn’t hold it in any longer. Josie knew she would regret it if she didn’t tell Hope how deep her love was for her.

“I take it back: Hope has impeccable taste.” Lizzie pulls the dress out and gasps, “Is this Vera Wang?”

Their mom throws her arms around the two and bubbles with laughter, “Well, I guess there will be two beautiful princesses at the ball tonight.” Josie warms at the soft kiss her mom places on her forehead. “Let’s get ready, my beautiful princesses. Where shall we begin?”

Lizzie squeals in excitement, instantly forgetting Josie’s flower-problem and broken heart, and buzzes energetically around the room. Josie and her mom laugh at her sister’s enthusiasm and dodge the numerous items Lizzie starts flinging at them.

In the corner of Josie’s eye, she watches as the petals from the white rose on the window sill fall.

* * *

As the sun continues to descend, the night steadily approaching, Lizzie and Josie put the final touches to their look and prepare to make their grand entrance to their own party. Their mom is off to the side, dressed in a beautiful blue evening gown as she imitates Cinderella, and taking a dozen pictures of her and Lizzie getting ready.

Josie stands in the mirror staring at herself in the beautiful gown Hope had gifted her and wonders where the older girl was now or what she was doing. She hopes that Hope will still show up tonight—Josie can’t bear it if she doesn’t.

“So, MG says everyone is all congregated at the Old Mill and eagerly waiting for our arrival,” Lizzie claps her white gloved hands. Her twin is in a beautiful sleeveless light pink gown, blond hair curled down with a tiara on top, with white heels that further elevates her presence. Josie’s eyes fall on the necklace she bought Lizzie, still hung around her neck and accentuating the regal look her twin is exuding, and Josie imprints this beautiful image of Lizzie in her mind.

Her mom comes up from behind her and pulls her in a soft embrace. “You girls looks so beautiful,” she gushes and then pulls Lizzie into their group hug. “I’m so lucky to have such stunning daughters.” Lizzie and Josie groan as their mom starts tearing up.

There’s a knock on the door and Josie's heart jumps in anticipation, expecting Hope to walk through the door and grace the room with her astounding beauty. But her heart falters when her dad walks into the room, dressed as Prince Charming, with soft eyes as they fall on Josie and Lizzie. Josie tamps down her disappointment and immediately brightens at the presence of her family together again.

“Girls, you look so beautiful,” he chokes out and his blue eyes are wet with tears.

“Can you both please not do this,” Lizzie groans at their parents. “We’re just turning 17, you both do this every year.” Josie does her best to mimic Lizzie’s expression, but Josie’s eyes start to water too. Knowing that this is the last private moment she’ll have with her family is excruciating and Josie does her best to contain her depressing thoughts.

Her dad walks forward and engulfs Josie in his comforting bear hugs. “Can you blame us? You girls are just so beautiful.” Josie is gripping onto the lapels of his jacket and trying to memorize her dad’s scent—a mix of old books and scotch—and inhales deeply.

Josie holds him closer and whispers, “I love you, Dad.”

Her dad eyes mist as he says it back and kisses her forehead soundly. She feels Lizzie and her mom throw their arms around Josie, squeezing her tightly in this intimate group hug. Josie cements this memory of pure bliss and love with her family in her heart—even Lizzie’s mocking gags in the background. She wants to remember it all.

“Okay enough,” Lizzie snaps. “It’s time to go, people!” Her dad joins arms with Lizzie, ready to escort her to the party, and Josie is about to follow them out the door when her mom pulls her back by her shoulders gently.

“You both go on first, we’ll meet you out by the front. I need to fix Josie’s hair,”her mom says. Josie looks at her mom curiously, knowing an excuse when she hears one.

“What? Josie’s hair is fine, Mom. We’re going to be late and—“ Lizzie rushes, but her mom gives her a stern look that has her twin closing her mouth quickly.

“It’ll only take a moment, Elizabeth,” the demand in their mom’s voice loud and clear. “Now, go down with your dad and we’ll be there shortly, sweetie.” Lizzie pouts but complies. Her twin turns on her heels and takes their dad’s arm as they exit the room, leaving Josie alone with her mom…

…her vampire mom with supernatural hearing that’s basically a human lie detector.

“What’s wrong with my hair?” Josie tentatively asks as she plays with the curls of her half up-do style.

Her mom shakes her head. “Nothing, it’s lovely sweetie. I always do a perfect up-do,” she gloats. Her mom then cards her fingers gently through Josie’s curls and looks at Josie with concerned blue eyes. “I just wanted a moment to wonder why my daughter is sad on her birthday?” Josie bites her tongue and she averts her eyes down, avoiding looking at her mom’s all-knowing and piercing blue eyes.

She lifts her eyes to her mom as the maternal caress of her mom’s hand lands on Josie’s cheek. “What’s going on, Josette?”

And Josie shudders against the unconditional love and security of her mom and she wants to break down into these loving arms that raised her and confess _everything._

“I—I’m dying, Mom,” Josie stammers and she lets those words hang in the air—let’s the truth out in the open just for a moment. Her Mom’s terrified blue eyes make her falter, however, and Josie adds, “I’m dying from a broken heart.”

Her mom wipes away the falling tears, holding Josie’s face gently in her hands. “Oh my sweet, Josie.” If anyone knew heartbreak, it was her mom and the tears in her blue eyes is evident of that. “Is it that hobbit Lizzie is always shrieking at? Frodo-something?”

Josie laughs at her mom not even remembering her ex’s name and shakes her head, “N-no, not him.”

By the window sill, another rose petal drops to the floor and Josie sobs as her mom asks quietly, “Is it Hope?” And Josie ruins her mascara and hiccups as her mom gently rocks her in her arms. “Looks like you fell for the Mikaelson charm just like your mom,” her mom humorlessly chuckles. “When it comes to that family, you never know what’s really going on in their mind and hearts.”

Josie continues to weep, “I am so in love with her Mom, but she—I’m not her epic love.” Her mom continues to coo at her and hold her tightly. Josie’s lungs are tight, blooming flowers crushing them together, and her bones feel weak and entirely devoid of magic. “She’s my soulmate, mom, and I…I’m dying,” she cries again and hates how the weight of the words continue to crush her. _I’m dying. I’m dying tonight._

“No, sweetie, it’s going to be okay, Josie,” her mom tries to reassure. “You’ll find another epic love and they’ll sweep you off your feet—life is filled with soulmates and epic loves.” Josie wants to ask how her mom got over losing two of her greatest loves, but Josie doesn’t want to know—there’s no point in knowing now.

Instead, she pulls away from her mom with a watery smile and whispers, “You promise?”

“I promise, Josette,” her mom promised and peppers soft kisses to her head. “You have a long life ahead of you with epic adventures and soulmates.” Josie prays for it to be true, but the white rose from the corner of her eyes taunts her with the painful truth.

She takes a deep breath and squares her shoulders in faux confidence, pulls back from her mom’s safe embrace. Waving her hand over her face, Josie glamours her face and fixes her makeup as if it was never ruined in the first place.

“I love you, Mom,” Josie fervently says with all her heart.

Her mom grasps both of her hands. “You’ll get through this, Josie. You’re so strong and this pain will not last. My greatest loves in this world are you and Lizzie—the both of you are my epic loves,” she says passionately. “ _I_ will love you, always and forever, Josette—a mother’s love never dies.”

Looking at her mom’s teary eyes, heartbroken with Josie, Josie aches at the realization she will be another great love her mom will lose. She doesn’t know how her mom is able to live an immortal life—Josie doesn’t know if she can handle it. But, if she could choose immortality right now and prolong her life just a little longer to be with the people she loves—well, Josie wouldn’t be opposed.

“I’ll always love you, Mom. You, Lizzie, and Dad. Forever.” Josie locks their arms together and takes another deep breath, “We should probably go now.” Her mom pats her hand fondly and they walk out of the doors together one last time to meet Lizzie and her dad waiting for them outside by a white horse carriage, excited to start the magical night.

* * *

Riding in a white horse carriage, Josie and Lizzie are sitting across from each other while their parents are up in the front holding the reigns. Staring at the intricate design of the carriage, with its luminescent gold glow and twisting vines, Josie shivers in the cold night and her anxiety rising with the steady trot to her last ball.

Lizzie interlocks their fingers together and squeezes softly. “You doing okay? You’re shaking.”

Josie nods with a genuine smile on her face. “Just…nervous. It’s our birthday and I want it to be filled with magic and happiness—I want to celebrate it with my favorite twin.” She bumps her shoulder against Lizzie’s and laughs at her twin dramatically rolling her eyes, smiling nonetheless.

“I’m your only twin, Jo.”

Josie nods and whispers to Lizzie, “Always and forever, don’t forget it.” They throw their arms around each other and Josie holds on tighter silently praying for a miracle tonight—for time to stand still for a little longer. “Happy birthday, Lizzie.”

“Happy birthday, Josie.”

As The carriage begins to slow down, Josie pulls back and gasps in amazement: they enter under an archway with intricately woven branches and Christmas lights twisting around it. They pass a large water fountain with a statue of cupid and his arrows at the center, water pooling from the tip of his golden heart-shaped arrow. Around them are floating lanterns, suspended in air by magic, and they glow like stars guiding them through the woods on this magical night. Along the cobblestone pathway are mason jars with thousands of fireflies flittering in the air around them and Josie is absolutely breathless by the beauty of it all.

And as the Mill comes closer to view, she gasps in wonderment at its transformation from a rickety building to an open tower that stretches to the sky. The Mill stands tall, leaves and vines adorning it, as a gargantuan tree now sprouts from the center with lanterns draping down like a chandelier. Inside the towering Mill, is a crowd of their closest friends, frenemies, enemies, classmates—everyone that makes up the little magical found family at the Salvatore Boarding School—all there to celebrate this momentous night of Josie and Lizzie’s life.

Josie feels as if she actually walked into a fairy tale world and she feels swept up in its beauty. This is far from how it looked when she was planning with Lizzie and she turns to the smug grin on her twins face.

“I added some last minute touches with Mom.” Lizzie shrugs at Josie’s surprised face. The carriage comes to a stop and the catchy beats of pop music becomes louder at their arrival.

“Ready for an epic birthday party?” Lizzie grabs her hand, smiling radiantly at Josie. The carriage door opens and their parents extend their hands to them as they guide Josie and Lizzie carefully down.

Josie holds onto her dad’s hand and he lifts her in the air and spins her around. “Happy birthday, sweet girl,” he whispers in her ear and then sets her down.

With their mom and dad flanked by their sides, Josie and Lizzie approach the towering Mill as all their friends and classmates cheer and holler at their arrival. They stop in front of the steps and their parents kiss them both on the cheeks and leave to mingle with Dorian, Emma, and other faculty members. Lizzie and Josie interlock their hands, pick up their dresses, and rush up the steps as gold dusts drops from above them. MG and Rafael flinging it from the top of the tower showering them with faux fairy dust—Josie laughs, if only they knew how on point they were.

At the center of the enormous tree, is Kaleb and his DJ station. He’s aptly dressed as the Mad Hatter and tips his hat at Josie with a charming wink. Behind him is an oversized antique clock, carved into the tree, ticking away and serving as a reminder to Josie of how much time she has left.

“Let’s get this party started!” Kaleb shouts in the mic and white balloons drop all around them as the record scratches and a rhythmic beat plays that gets everyone around them hyped and dancing.

MG immediately vamps down, dressed as Prince Phillip with a hilariously small crown in his fro, and starts to sway to the music around Lizzie. Josie and Lizzie laugh, a surge of infectious giddiness overtakes them, as they let themselves loosen up. Feeling freer than ever, Josie lets herself be spun around by Lizzie and she wildly dances offbeat with her favorite person without a single care in the world how ridiculous they look.

The night passes on as Josie soaks up every living moment with her twin and her best friend by her side on the dance floor. In this very moment, with the loud bass drowning out her dying heart and suffused in the ethereal glow of the night, Josie only exists _now._ Surrounded by her friends and family, she is loved and she is alive.

She clings onto this emotion—she clings and clings because it’s all she can desperately do as the clock continues to tick away.

MG lifts Josie up, spinning her around, and she throws her head back laughing freely. While she is spinning in the air, feeling light, she sees her—sees Hope on the second floor looking down at her, biting her lips with sad eyes. Hope is dressed fancier for the occasion with the modifications she made to the Little Red Riding Hood outfit. She’s wearing a burgundy evening gown that flares out at the ends and her bare shoulders are covered by the bright red cloak complementing the outfit. The hood appears pinned to her flowing auburn locks and Hope’s eyes are prominently blue against her monochromatically red attire. As always, Josie is breathless by her beauty.

Hope holds her gaze, nervously nibbling on her red lips, and Josie aches to be closer. Her broken heart be damned—she wants to spend her last night with the girl she’s in love with. Back on her own two feet, MG and Lizzie still dancing wildly around her, Josie looks back up at Hope and waves her down. Hope straightens and her eyes shine, a slow smile crawls back on her face as she stupidly waves at Josie. Gods, Josie loves her. She laughs as Hope bumps against people as she tries to make her way down to Josie, fumbling and flustering adorably. But then Landon wraps his arms around his waist and kisses Hope sloppily on the cheek and Josie has to rip her eyes away, chest stinging painfully at the sight.

Lizzie and MG pull Josie out of her thoughts as they grab both of her hands, forming a circle, and start to spin around—stupidly reenacting the scene from _Perks of_ _Being a Wallflower_ as ‘Come on Eileen’ starts to play. Josie stupidly loves every moment of it:

She loves the rush to her head and the uproarious laughter from Lizzie and MG as they spin faster and faster. When the chorus of the song hits and they all break apart, Josie is spinning wildly off course and thrown into someone’s arms.

Pulling back, laughing, she notices that it’s Landon who catches her, smiling that dumb awkward grin that’s still charming somehow to Josie. Josie looks to the side to see Hope struggling with a fumbling and dizzy Lizzie, looking annoyed at her twin for most likely stopping her from getting to Josie first.

“Lizzie, get off!” Hope screeches and her twin does the opposite and topples on top of the tribrid.

Josie shakes her head laughing and then wiggles her eyebrows at Landon, “Shall we tah-loo-rye-ay?” Landon heartily laughs and spins Josie around and shimmies with her to the song. Here, Josie remembers how she once loved and cared for this naive boy—the confidant she made that summer. A friend who she confided in as they both filled the emptiness of Hope’s absence. She remembers how they’re just two people hopelessly in love with Hope.

“I miss this!” Landon yells over the music. Josie nods in agreement and lets him hug her, because she missed being his friend and she _will_ miss him. She’ll miss the chance to getting back to _this_.

A soft hand pries her from Landon and she notices Hope pulling her away, Hope who is looking a mix of fury and sadness between the two.

“Josie, can I talk to you for a minute?” Hope asks, but then the bridge of the song starts and Lizzie jumps on her back screaming at her to dance with her, dragging her away from Hope. 

Hope’s shoulders fall and the tribrid turns to walk away and the rejection—the sadness makes Josie recall a memory:

_…it still feels like I don’t exist to you._

And Josie promised that she would never make Hope feel that way, as long as she’s still here and breathing. As Josie is being dragged into another spinning circle with her friends, she reaches out and pulls at Hope’s wrists, spinning Hope back around to her.

“Are you seriously not going to dance on my birthday?” Josie yells over the loud music and she laughs at the panic on Hope’s face. The circle closes as Landon joins in, Hope and Lizzie next to her, and they spin wildly, singing to the lyrics to the song from the top of their lungs.

They spin faster and faster and Josie is drunk from euphoria—they all are. Josie spins out at the end as everyone wobbles away laughing. She nearly falls on her ass until Hope’s wraps her arm around Josie’s waist and catches her from falling—holding Josie mid-dip and slowly pulling her back up.

The room is spinning and the music shifts to a slow ballad, Kaleb telling everyone to cool off a bit and bring some class back. Face to face, Hope’s arm firmly around her still, Josie feels the endless spinning cease as the world stills in the arms of her soulmate. Josie, bashful, looks around to see all the couples in the room lining up in front of each other, ready to perform a traditional ballroom dance. She even sees her mom and dad step onto the dance floor—her mom never turning away from partaking in the romantics of the ballroom dance.

Hope lets go of Josie and steps back, and Josie is saddened at the loss of Hope’s warmth, but knows Hope is probably going find Landon to dance with. However, Hope stuns her by curtsying in front of Josie. Josie is stunned speechless as Hope stands beside her, arm in arm, and moving forward in unison with the rest of the crowd.

Josie whispers, “What are you doing?”

They turn counter-clockwise and she sees the coy smile on Hope’s lips, “Dancing with the birthday girl, of course.” Hope spins her around and they’re face to face once again, the beating of Josie’s heart drowned by the beautiful swells of the song.

But as Hope pulls her in closer, leading Josie in the waltz, she feels her heart breaking all over again. The music, the dance, and the way Hope looks at Josie—it’s all too painful of a reminder of how all of this has been a beautiful fantasy Josie let herself escape to. She looks at the clock and her throat closes up: half-an-hour to midnight.

She only has thirty-minutes left to say what she needs to say. With Hope this close to her, Josie doesn’t think it’s enough time—it never will be.

“Josie, about what happened at the sinkhole,” Hope’s soft murmur makes Josie ache. “I wanted to say that—“

“You look beautiful tonight, Hope.” Josie stops her from finishing her sentence, stunning Hope into silence. “You always look so beautiful,” she nearly cries. “I meant every word at the sinkhole.” Hope falters in her steps and closes her eyes; Josie wishes she wouldn’t hide her blue eyes from her. “I don’t expect anything from you—your feelings are your own and mine are mine.” Josie exhales shakily, flowers bursting against her ribs. “You and Landon are in love with each other and I’m not going to step in between that.” Josie takes the lead, pulling and pushing Hope with her to the rhythm. Hope’s eyes are still closed and Josie pulls her in close and leans down to whisper in her ear, ”But, I need you to know, I will love you always and forever, Hope Mikaelson. Whatever happens after tonight, is not your fault. I will love you even after I take my last breath of air in this world—I will always love you, never forget that.” Josie pulls back, confusing Hope, and spins her into Landon’s arms.

Landon softly takes Hope into his arms, waltzing with Hope to the rhythm of the song, and Josie knows this will be the closest she can get.

Looking at the clock again, Josie falls back from the crowd and sneaks out knowing the longer she stays the harder it will be for her to leave. Lifting her dress up, she jogs down the steps and makes it a few feet from the dance before turning around one last time.

Josie takes a mental picture of everyone so happy, so in love, and hopes the memory follows her in wherever she goes after death. The way her mom and dad are dancing together on the dance floor, finally smiling in peace; the way Lizzie and MG are staring at each other, Lizzie on the brink of a revelation; and the way Hope and Landon are dancing with each other—beautifully in sync and in love.

Looking up towards the clock, Josie sees that her time is running out and she can feel her bones grow weak—her magic almost non-existent. Flittering down, Josie notices two butterflies, one white and the other yellow, dancing in front of her with a strong smell of honeysuckle—Psyche is here to guide her.

With tears rolling down her face, Josie takes one more look before finally forcing herself to turn away. She takes a deep breath and picks up her dress, heels clacking against the cobblestone as she follows Psyche deep into the woods. As she runs faster, her heart aches at the sound of the distant bass of the party fading and she yearns to return into the warmth of her loved ones—she aches to fall into their arms and will this disease away. But she can feel the flowers plunging into her heart, twisting and twisting its thorny vines.

Her dress gets caught in a branch and she hears the fabric tear loudly as Josie pushes forward. Chasing after Psyche, Josie is struck by a painful stab in her chest and she falters in her steps at the intensity of it.

Josie trips on a knobby root, the heel of her shoe breaking and slipping off her feet, and she tumbles down a small slope. She tumbles and tumbles, skin scraping against the sharp twigs and gravel, until she reaches even ground. Her body is screaming in pain and her head spinning—Josie rolls to her side and starts to convulse wildly as she dry heaves. Propping herself up, she heaves and heaves until another rose falls from her lips covered in blood and green bile. Josie cries into the cool night as she heaves once more, extricating more roses, more petals, and now prickly leaves.

She falls limply on her stomach, in a puddle of her own blood, and smears her yellow gown with red. The two butterflies dance in front of her, urging her to chase after them—for Josie to keep going.

“I can’t,” she cries weakly and coughs up more blood. “Psyche, I can’t go on anymore.” Josie lays her head down on the cool ground, listening to the slow thrums of her heartbeat that turn into desperate crawls for life. She turns over and lays on her back and stares at the butterflies fluttering above her against the starry night.

As they hover over Josie, the stars begin shimmer hotly with a beautiful gold hue. Josie swears the stars have detached from the canvas of the sky and are falling towards her—is this what they mean when they say follow the light? Then a glitter of gold dust falls over Josie like a light downpour in the morning and Josie blinks and blinks until her eyes feast upon a million fairies encircling her, rivaling the luminosity of the stars. She sits up on her elbows and basks in the golden glow of dancing fairies, all humming softly in unison.

Josie holds her hand out, collecting a pile of gold dust, and a single fairy lands on the palm of her hands. She weakly laughs because it is the same fairy that lead her to Psyche—the fairy curtsies and then points their talons to the sky. Josie looks up to see the hoards of fairies waltzing to the beautiful trills of their collective hums, all moving in sync to conglomerate in a single golden ball—exploding so brightly that they rival the scorching sun on a summer day. She shields her eyes from the blinding light and then the high hums immediately cease. Eyes scrunched closed still, Josie’s senses tune in to her surroundings: the hissing of a waterfall, the cool wet grass against her naked legs, and the smell of honeysuckle and roses. Peeking through one eye, Josie’s jaw drops to see that she has been transported to the sinkhole—the very spot where she confessed her love for Hope earlier.

But the wildflowers are standing tall and vibrant under the white light of the moon, frozen in place—unswayed by the soft cold breeze that kisses Josie’s skin.

“Hello, Josette.” Josie eyes flare up to the sound of a velvety voice, smooth and resounding to the core, and nearly chokes at the ethereal goddess above her, fluttering her large wings in the sky—Anteros.

The moonlight infusing her in a white halo, her silky black hair drapes down her body past her rear and stopping just above her knees. Her fair skin blushes red on her cheeks as the night wind coolly dances through and she stretches her lean arms out wide. Anteros's violet eyes dilate, rogue red lips part, and she tilts her sharp chin up and an operatic hum escapes her. With the pleasant sound of her voice, echoing off the cave walls, the flowers around Josie bloom open and at the core are sleeping fairies with their lights dim. Anteros harmonious voice ascends to a high pitch and Josie stares in amazement as the fairies all awake, soundlessly yawning, and their lights burning hot as they flitter to the sky one by one.

Anteros voice simmers to a quiet hum until all the fairies awaken and start to hum and dance around them. She descends from the sky and lands gently on the ground, her domineering size towering over Josie. Josie watches as a fairy flies over a budding white rose to Anteros—one of the roses Hope was planting—and she realizes that the Goddess is making the cure.

“I—“ Josie tries to talk but then she coughs violently and spits out blood and green leaves. Her pain seeming to increase tenfold. “Why—why did you curse me?” she manages to croak out through the pain.

“Do you know the origin of the Hanahaki Disease?” Anteros presses her lips to the budding rose and it blooms open to reveal a baby sprite. “There was a mage centuries ago, Galen was his name, and he was deeply in love with a powerful witch that went by the name Rhea. But Rhea was to wed another powerful mage—Vanir, a brusque and noble man. Galen was Vanir’s apprentice and his loyal disciple.” The Goddess takes the fairy-dusted petals and crushes them into a vial, mixing them together softly. “Unbeknownst to Galen, Rhea was deeply in love with him as well, both kept their longing for each other a secret—bound to loyalty and duty. Vanir grew suspicious of the closeness of Galen and Rhea, so he put a curse on his soon to be wife. His nobleness grew tainted as he became fueled by jealously—dark magic and the God Nemesis whispering in his ear. Cruelly, he planted a white rose in Rhea’s body: if her love was faithful to him, it would not grow, remain dormant inside of her. But if she longed for someone else—for Galen—then the flower would grow and grow until it burst out of her.

“On their wedding day, standing on the cliff over the Adriatic Sea, Rhea fell to the ground heaving roses. The ground began to swallow her up and she died with white roses sprouting from her body.” A weeping fairy flies over to Anteros and cries its silver tears into the vial, mixing with the gold-dusted white rose petals. “Galen screamed to the Gods in pain, rushing over to her corpse and begged the Gods to take him instead of the love of his life. Vanir, disgusted by the betrayal and corrupted by black magic and Nemesis, drew his sword and plunged it into Galen’s heart—his blade piercing Galen and Rhea’s heart and soul together. He then casted a curse on their reincarnated souls to be forever cursed with the Hanahaki Disease—fated to an eternity of their souls finding each other, falling in love all over again, and destined to meet the same grisly end.”

Josie swallows the thick blood down her throat and sobs, “Hope and I are the reincarnated souls of Galen and Rhea…”

The goddess nods sadly. “Psyche and I are bound by the tragic task of guiding their reincarnated souls to the next life.” Anteros holds the shimmering vial—the cure—before Josie. “Vanir punished them for their silence—for hiding their great love from him and thus foolishly killing themselves; a cycle he cursed them to repeat over and over throughout centuries.”

“I confessed,” Josie cries. “Shouldn’t I be cured then!”

Anteros sympathetically sighs, “The only true cure to the curse is a love that is returned, unbound, and everlasting—from _both_ souls.” Anteros bends down to a crying Josie and hands her the vial. “My cure is a counter to the fatalism of Vanir’s curse, however. I could not watch my children continue to repeat the same tragic fate as Galen and Rhea over and over. Thus, I created this cure where the memory and love of those two souls will disappear and save them from the bloody cycle. But, most never took the cure I offered and chose death, unable to put their soulmate in peril and live a loveless life. I’ve watched millions of their reincarnated souls sacrifice their soul for the other—waiting patiently for them to be reunited in the afterlife just to repeat the cycle in the next.” Anteros peers her shimmering violet eyes at Josie and sorrowfully asks, “Are you to do the same, Josette?”

The pain coiling inside of Josie, the slow beats of her heart, screams at her to do so. Josie stares at the silver liquid speckled with white roses and gold fairy dust, and clutches it tightly.

Anteros then breaks into tiny little balls of light, vanishing from sight and taking the fairies with her into the sky.

Josie grips the cure closely to her chest and cries helplessly as the pain clawing inside her beings to intensify. Suddenly, a swarm of butterflies travels down before her and Psyche, still in a white gown and black cloak, appears in front of her.

She cries to Psyche, “Psyche, how can I—how can I do this to Hope? I love her so, but I’m afraid to die.” Josie sobs and then screams in pain as her bones begin to crack and roots from the ground emerge and wraps around Josie’s torso.

Psyche cradles Josie’s face with watery eyes, “You have to decide quickly, Josette. It is almost midnight.”

Josie clutches tightly onto the vial in pain, nearly cracking it, and arches her back as a multitude of white roses rush up her throat—roots shaking out from the ground and wrapping themselves around Josie’s throat, arms, and legs.

In the distance, she can hear the clock strike midnight and the last petal by her window sill falling…

* * *

“You look beautiful tonight, Hope.”Hope blushes at the way Josie is looking at her—no one, not even Landon, looks at her the way Josie does. “You always look so beautiful,” Josie says wistfully. _I’m not beautiful, you are,_ Hope wants to say but she tamps the urge to do so. But it’s true. How can Josie say she’s beautiful when she’s standing before Hope looking like a real-life princess? Josie is breathtaking—she always is. The way she glows in the dress Hope got for her (a quick call from her Aunt Rebekah) and how she is easily the most stunning person Hope has laid her eyes on.

Josie continues, “I meant every word at the sinkhole.” Hope closes her eyes and thinks back to Josie’s romantic confession. When Josie confessed, Hope felt as if she was floating in the air—but she also felt chained to the ground. She felt helpless in that moment and so confused. Her heart ached alongside Josie’s confession and Hope never felt so torn.

“I don’t expect anything from you—your feelings are your own and mine are mine,” Josie says sincerely and Hope is astounded at Josie selflessness after Hope basically rejected her—Hope doesn’t deserve to be loved by such a person. She doesn’t know what to feel—she’s so conflicted between Josie and Landon and she knows deep in her bones she loves them both. How she loves them and in what way, Hope is unsure. Their waltz continues, Josie somehow shifting Hope and taking the lead. “You and Landon are in love with each other and I’m not going to step in between that.” But why is it that when she is with Landon all she can think about is Josie? Why is it that Hope thinks about how Josie’s voice is more calming than Landon’s when he reads to her? Why is it that when she looks into his green eyes she wishes they were darker and warmer? Why is it that when she sleeps next to him she constantly wants to rush back to the feeling of waking up next to Josie at the Old Mill?

Hope is at the brink of realization when Josie pulls her in close and whispers into her ear, ”But, I need you to know, I will love you always and forever, Hope Mikaelson. Whatever happens after tonight, is not your fault. I will love you even after I take my last breath of air in this world—I will always love you, never forget that.” Her heart triples in size and Hope foolishly want to rush forward and capture—

But then Josie spins Hope around and lets her go—let’s her go into Landon’s open arms that is patiently waiting to catch her.

“Can I have this dance?” his deep voice soothing her and making her remember who she came with—remembering that he’s her boyfriend; the man she loves. But as he takes her hand, Hope notices how they lack a softness to them and how displaced she feels in his arms. They sway to the music and he smiles charmingly at her, “You look beautiful tonight, Miss Red.” Hope laughs weakly but her heart doesn’t stutter at his words—they brush against her heart but they don’t grab at it and squeeze it to the point the blood rushes to her head and makes her dizzy with…with love. Not like the way Josie—

And Hope realizes something, something magnificent and all-encompassing. It has to do with Josie—everything has to do with Josie. _It’s always been Josie._ Hope’s eyes are frantically searching the ballroom, looking for warm brown eyes with the softest and brightest smile and—where is Josie? Her eyes scan the room and her heart sinks, scared that she’s too late and—

The sound of Lizzie screaming pulls Hope out of her thoughts immediately and the music stops—the entire room silent. Lizzie is on the floor, screaming and crying, as she scratches her nails into the skin where her heart is. Alaric and Caroline rush to her side, kneeling down at her in worry, and MG is holding her hand tightly, fearfully.

Lizzie starts to hysterically call for Josie, screaming her name at the top of her lungs, and lets out a painful cry into the air and Hope’s bones go ice cold. Hope, now frantic, looks around the room for Josie—eyes scanning face after face but never landing on the one she desperately needs to see right now.

“Josie! No, no, _no!_ ” Lizzie cries, eyes wildly searching for her twin.

Hope rushes out of the party and into the open night air. She sniffs the air, blocking out all the pungent odors of the sweaty partygoers or the hint of weed, trying to catch wind of the soft fragrance of spring meadows and pine—of Josie.

She _can’t_ smell her and Hope is now frenzied and terrified. Hope runs deep into the woods, ignoring Landon calling out at her, and starts to rip off her clothes. She can’t find Josie’s scent in human form—she needs to shift. _Now._

Running deeper in the woods, far from the party, Hope strips the last of her clothing and falls to the ground in pain as she starts to shift.

All of her bones crack beneath her skin and Hope screams in pain until her agonizing yells become the guttural howls of a wolf. Hope, now shifted, shakes her white fur and opens her golden eyes to the misty and dark woods. Sniffing the air, Hope tracks Josie’s scent and gets the faintest whiff of it. Her paws immediately pound against the soil and her wolf instinctively follows after the scent—the scent her wolf knows intimately well.

Hope jumps over roots, quickly moving as Josie’s scent becomes stronger, and then her movements come to a slow trot as she finds a piece of Josie’s dress hanging off a branch. Her snout runs along the fabric and then her head swivels to the scent culminating at the bottom of a slope. Hope jumps down and skids to a stop, Josie’s scent overwhelming her. She whines loudly as her wolf looks down at a broken heel next to a puddle of blood and a white rose.

The scent is Josie’s—the blood is Josie’s. Hope throws her head back and howls painfully at the lone moon in the sky. Her wolf—her soul—is crying in pain and she lies down next to the white rose that is covered in Josie’s scent and whimpers soundly.

As Hope lies on the ground, heartbroken, her eyes catch a ball of light shimmering above her. The light lands on her snout—a fairy? _It can’t be._ Hope growls lowly and the little fairy snickers and then blows dust into Hope’s eyes. She shakes her head, the fairy flying off her snout, and sneezes. Hope looks up to see the fairy is now surrounded by multiple balls of lights.

A group of them pick up the white rose and flitter away with it in the air and Hope’s gut tells her to follow them. She runs alongside them, golden fiery lights illuminating her path, and they guide her to the waterfall—the waterfall Hope had taken Josie earlier in the day. The magical world behind it where Josie confessed her love to Hope. In amazement, she watches as the fairies flitter behind the waterfall and Hope’s heart beats wildly and chases after them. Jumping through the waterfall, Hope shakes her wet fur in the cave and glances at how the cave glows with the fairies hanging by the stalactites.

Then, her ears instantly perk up at Josie’s painful cry and Hope rushes towards her.

Entering the sinkhole, Hope’s heart drops at the sight of Josie painfully arching her back from the ground and chained down by the roots of the Earth. She sees a beautiful woman, olive skin and curly brown hair, gently caressing Josie through the pain. Hope growls viciously and the woman startles.

She arches her back and starts to shift back into human form. Hope, now in her bare human form, limps weakly towards Josie.

“Get. Away. From. Her,” she grits out.

The woman stands up and drops her black cloak on the ground, revealing her large butterfly wings. Any other day, Hope would be stunned by the sight. But Josie writhing in pain occupies all her attention and she immediately rushes over and drops to her knees. She grabs the cloak the woman had dropped and covers herself with it.

Hope stares aghast at Josie—Josie who is convulsing against the roots that are constraining her and her mouth dripping with blood and…and white roses blooming out of it.

“Josie,” Hope cries terrified. “Oh God, what do I do? Josie, please hold on.” Hope extends her claws and rips the roots wrapped around Josie furiously, ripping them one by one until Josie is free. Josie, however, is still writhing in pain violently with tears and blood pooling from her eyes.

Hope wraps her arms around Josie and pulls her close—holding Josie against her bare chest trying to stop the violent tremors. “What do I do? I don’t know what’s going on—what is this?” Hope stares at the woman with butterfly wings angrily. “What did you do?” she seethes.

The woman’s wings droop low and shakes her head. “It is too late, Hope,” she says softly. “Josette chose not to take the cure—she chose to save your soul over hers.”

Her eyes widen. “What?” She looks down at Josie whose mouth continues to gush out white roses covered in blood. Hope then sees that Josie is clutching a vial in her right hand and she immediately grabs it. “Is this the cure?” Hope holds the vial—a silvery potion with rose petals and golden flecks.

“Yes, it is. But Josette has denied it so—“

Hope rips the cork with her teeth and growls, “I don’t give a damn what she wants right now. She’s fucking _dying!_ ”

She’s about to pour the damn thing when Josie grips her wrist, stopping her from doing so. Josie’s chest is heaving up and down slowly and she looks at Hope with teary and blood eyes. Hope tries to pour the liquid down Josie’s throat but Josie, surprisingly strong in this moment, tightens her hold.

“Josie, _please,_ ” Hope cries desperately. “Let me save you!” Josie’s hand loosens and slowly moves to place itself over Hope’s heart. She scratches the bare skin over Hope’s wildly beating heart and shakes her head lethargically. “I don’t care about my soul or whatever you are trying to save me from!” Hope puts her hand over Josie’s. “I’m the hero, remember? Stop being an idiot, Josie,” she growls wetly.

Hope feels Josie scratching words over her skin: _I love you._

Josie’s hand then falls limp by her side and Hope curses, “No, fuck, Josie—Josie, please don’t do this to me.” Hope pours the liquid down Josie’s throat, pass the white roses blooming out of her, and prays it goes through. When the vial empties, Hope tosses it and grips at Josie’s suddenly limp body. “Wake up. Wake up. Wake up!” Hope cries hysterically.

She looks up desperately at the woman who is now flying away from them. “Please save her! I don’t know who you are or what’s happening, b-but—but please take me instead!” Hope shakes and sobs brokenly. “I love her,” Hope looks down at Josie’s lifeless eyes. “I’m in love with you, Josie. I’m so in love with you, you idiot. Please don’t leave me.” Hope buries her face in Josie’s chest and cries and cries—repeatedly screaming her love for Josie.

“Don’t leave me—you promised!”

And then the world goes still—everything freezes:

* * *

Psyche hovers over Hope and Josie melancholically and Anteros emerges beside her. “Her love is returned, Anteros. Their souls have merged—their love is returned, everlasting, and unbound.”

Anteros sighs dejectedly, “But it is too late, Psyche. She is too late—Josette is dead. We must prepare—” And then something strange happens: Josie is glowing gold. “What is this?” Anteros stutters in shock.

A golden glow illuminates from Josie’s body and Josie’s spirit emerges from her corporeal form. Josie is standing over her body and Hope, in complete shock at the scene, and runs her hand over her flower-free body. She then looks up and squints her eyes at Psyche and Anteros.

“She’s…she’s,” Anteros stutters.

“She’s a Goddess, now.” Psyche lets a sly smile adorn her face and Anteros stares at her in complete disbelief.

“What did you do Psyche?”

“I gave her the nectar and food of the Gods—ambrosia. It was meant only to ease her pain,” Psyche admits. “I did not think our philandering Zeus would deem her worthy enough to join us.” Psyche’s grin widens as Josie stands below them in confusion and then back to look at Hope in remorse.

The corners of Anteros rouge lips curl up. “That would mean—“

“Their love is immortal and the curse is broken at last,” Psyche supplies. “Josette saved both of their souls with her eternal and selfless love for Hope.” She then scrunches her eyebrows in contemplation, remembering something: “But the cure is in her body, Anteros. What does this mean?”

Anteros grins and looks down to see Josie, in her Goddess form, hugging Hope from behind whispering her apologies. She’s never seen a love story quite like this in the eons of her existence.

“It means, we are in for an epic love story.”

Anteros snaps her fingers and the world before them fades to black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...I'm very sorry for any heartaches? 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it and are ready for the epic love story I have planned! Josie and Hope are soulmates--they'll always find a way back to each other no matter what.


	5. Part II: I Saw You in a Dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooh boy, I'm terribly sorry for the long wait. This and that happened, but it doesn't matter now because I'm back with an update! Thank you for your patience and wonderfully kind comments <3

_The afternoon sun is floating high in the sky, Hope feels its heat warm the crown of her head as she rests in the middle of a meadow filled with flowers. She’s by a stretch of white roses and there’s the faint echo of water flowing. Looking down at her palm, she sees a silver necklace with a rose pendant and a white stone at its center._

_“Don’t leave me,” Hope raises her gaze at the enchanted voice to meet a hazy figure before her. The feminine figure before her is all but a blur of outlines with no clear definitive features except for doe brown eyes. Those hypnotizing brown eyes pierce her entire soul and sends an arrow straight to her heart. “Please, Hope. I’m scared and so alone.”_

_“Who are you?” Hope steps forward._

_The young woman then sinks down to her knees and howls out in anguish, roots dragging her down and binding around her throat. Hope watches in horror as white roses start sprouting from the girl and the ground flows with her blood. “Hope, I love you…” the girl shouts out mournfully and Hope is desperate to save this peculiar, obscure figure. Hope is cold with dread and is fracturing at the image of losing this nameless and faceless brown-eyed figure._

_“No!” Hope yells. She rushes after the young woman, but is kept in place as vines wrap around her legs and bolt her to the ground. The girl proceeds to yell her name and the ground beneath them splits open, dragging the mystery girl down._

_Hope struggles fitfully against the vines, her entire being drowning in sorrow at the sight of the girl being engulfed by ghouls as they pull her to the underworld. The girl screams painfully: “Hope, please! Save me, hurry!—”_

Hope wakes with a jolt and a sharp gasp. 

Sitting up in her bed, her clammy hands twisting her bed sheets, Hope slowly comes down from the intense high of another odd dream. Her shaky hands wipe the tears falling from her face, puzzled at the voracious sadness that seems to devour her every time she wakes up from these unexplainable visions.

With the morning light trickling in from the balcony window, Hope steadies at the sight of her spacious room in New Orleans littered with paintings. The canvases are splattered paintings of Hope’s dreams: a marvelous place saturated with wildflowers, white roses tinged with red, rich brown eyes against a white canvas—all tangible proof of Hope’s fevered dreams. 

Rising from her bed, Hope walks over to the current painting she was working on: a beautiful portrait of a faceless woman in a yellow evening gown. The scenery of the painting are broad strokes of midnight blue, a mixture of black paint streaking at the edges, with gleaming stars splattered across the sky. The faceless woman stands in the foreground of the frame, her divine image magnified on the canvas to encapsulate her all-consuming presence in Hope’s dreams. Hope’s fingers ghost over where a face should be, scratching the vacant spot on the canvas and thinking of the expressive brown eyes that look back at her each time she closes her eyes. 

There’s a knock on her door that pulls Hope from her thoughts, and her Aunt Freya pokes her head in. “Hey, sleepyhead. Breakfast is ready.” Freya walks in and leans over Hope. “Still no face to dream girl?” 

Hope shakes her head. “I feel like a know her, but I don’t? Does that even make sense?” She looks up at Freya, who just shrugs her shoulder.

“We’re Mikaelson’s,” Freya scoffs. “I’m a witch born thousands of years ago and you’re the first tribrid to ever exist—nothing makes sense in our lives.” Hope laughs in agreement as her aunt wraps her arms around her. Then, a squeal and bubble of giggles runs into the room and crashes into Hope’s legs.

“Hope, breakfast!” Her heart warms at her little cousin Nik squeezing her leg tightly and beaming up at her with a toothy grin. 

She picks him up and blows raspberries in his cheeks, making him squeal even more. “Morning little one,” Hope coos. 

“We better get to eating, you ladies are going to have to hit the road soon.” Hope and Freya turn to see Keelin leaning against the doorframe with a tender smile. Keelin reminds Hope that this is the last day back home in New Orleans before starting her last school year at the Salvatore Boarding School. The thought of going back to Salvatore sends her stomach in knots, body bubbling with nerves for some unknown reason. Her heart tightens at the prospect of returning to her empty bedroom—of roaming the halls as students either scamper away in fear or sneer at her in disdain. She’s not particularly excited to go back, but something in the back of her mind is telling her something is waiting for her there. Something _magnificent._

“Hope,” Nik whines and squishes her cheeks, bringing her attention back. 

“Right, breakfast” Hope pecks his cheeks and she follows her aunts to the kitchen. As she exits, Hope swears she sees one of the stars on the canvas of her painting emerging from its 2-dimensional space—glowing brighter than all the surrounding stars. 

She blinks her eyes rapidly and the star rests motionless on the canvas like the others. It’s just the trick of the light, that’s all. That’s all. 

* * *

Hope and her Aunt Freya are cruising down the road in companionable silence, smooth jazz playing through the radio as they sail through the wide roads of the south. The afternoon sun is glaring down on them with the summer heat still scorching through till the end and it is stifling hot inside the car. Hope turns to fiddle with the knobs of the air conditioner, trying to cool her agitated wolf that deplores being in confined spaces for so long—the way her legs are bouncing erratically like a hyperactive kid after drinking a gallon of sugar is evident of that. 

“Hope, relax.” Aunt Freya places a comforting hand on her frenetic bouncing leg to stop the nervous motion. Hope takes a deep breath and lets herself slump down in the seat, trying to ignore the unpleasant way the sweat from her back is sticking to the leather seats. 

She grumbles out an apology and lets the cool air hit her skin, allowing the briefest reprieve from the humid heat. 

“Are you excited for your last year at Salvatore?” Aunt Freya asks. “Excited to see Landon again?” 

Hope groans, she’s definitely not. She awkwardly shuffles in her seat and crosses her arms. “We actually broke up right before summer started,” Hope reveals. 

Aunt Freya peers at her in surprise. “Oh, you didn’t mention it. What happened?” 

What did happen? 

All Hope knows is that one moment she was content in their relationship and then the next it felt like she was suffocating in it. There was a change in their relationship within the last few months of the semester, and what was once something Hope cherished greatly became a sharp reminder that no one could fill the empty void in Hope’s heart—not even Landon. His ‘I love you’s’ only caused the chasm in her chest to widen and his kisses only made Hope wish it were someone else. Who that someone else is, Hope doesn’t know. But she knew with great certainty that she wasn’t in love with Landon, not anymore—not in the way he deserved. 

Landon, like all the other romantic interests in her life, was just a fleeting placeholder to satisfy her lonely heart. 

But she doesn’t say that to her aunt and instead replies with a nonchalant shrug and cynically says, “It ran its course like every young adult romance in their teens.” 

Aunt Freya looks at her sadly. “Doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt any less.” Hope remains silent. “Is that why you’ve been brooding all summer?” 

Hope isn’t sure why she was in such a depressive and hermit-like state all summer. Her heart isn’t aching because of Landon, she’s confident of that. They split amicably, Landon visibly more distressed by it than Hope. But as they parted, Hope felt free yet somehow still undeniably broken and empty. A great loss has ailed Hope all summer, a loss that feels fresh—another gash on her heart to the long list of people she has loved and lost. This new loss, however, Hope can’t place a name or face to its origin. 

“You know, you’re just like Klaus.” Hope is drawn from her melancholic thoughts at the sound of her dad’s name. 

“What do you mean?” Hope asks with grief. 

Aunt Freya smiles wistfully as they speed through the plains. “Your dad was always such a brooding and _dramatic_ man,” her aunt laughs at the memory of her dad. “He was never good at expressing his emotions with words; always stomping from one room to the next and flinging things at whoever crosses his path. If his usual aggressive temper tantrum didn’t work, he would lock himself inside his room with only a bottle of bourbon and his canvas—the paint splashing onto the piece as he hurled all his bottled emotions into a beautiful work of art.” Hope stares out the window, discreetly wiping away her tears.

“Then he would blow it up in flames and say something profoundly pretentious, right?” Hope’s voice breaks just talking about him. 

Aunt Freya laughs soundly and nods. “His ‘inspirational rampages’ as he liked to call them. Like I said, _dramatic._ ” Her aunt clears the emotions in her throat and hesitates for a beat. “But he was also so clever and passionate, just like you.” Hope bites her lips and lets the lone tear fall freely. “You both felt and saw the world so passionately and you both foolishly hide behind a facade of indifference.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Hope questions, emotionally exhausted at the memory of her dad. 

“Because your dad was such a paranoid man, loving his family so fiercely but never letting himself be loved—always afraid of getting hurt or being left alone.” Freya exhales shakily. “I guess I’m saying all this because I need you to know that you deserved to be loved, Hope. One day, you’ll meet this person—someone new or someone you already know—and they’ll show you how wonderful the world is when you let yourself submit to love.” Aunt Freya looks at her and says decisively, “An epic and everlasting love is waiting for you, you just have to be brave and go for it.” 

Hope holds herself and quietly admits, “I don’t think Landon is that person.”

Aunt Freya smirks, “Is it wrong to say that I’m happy you broke up or is it still too soon?” Hope gapes at her aunt incredulously. “What? He seemed like a whiny emo kid that was obsessed with fitting in—definitely not fit to stand by a Mikaelson.” 

Hope rolls her eyes at Freya. “Who is fit to stand by the illustrious and powerful Mikaelson name, then?” 

“Unfortunately, no mortal or supernatural being on this Earth is fit for you—only a god or goddess is fit for my niece.” Freya humorously mandates. “They have to harness the strength of a thousand men and burn hotter than the sun itself; courageous like the lion, yet gentle like the butterfly.” Hope laughs heartily as her aunt beats her fist in the air dramatically. “Only then do I deem them worthy to stand by a Mikaelson.” 

Hope playfully nudges Freya. “Oh, so are you telling me Keelin possessed all these _godly_ qualities?” 

“She does,” Freya says pridefully. “But I don’t think it would be appropriate to tell you how.” 

“Gross, Aunt Freya!” Hope scrunches her face in disgust. Aunt Freya throws her head back and laughs heartily. Getting over the gross visual of her aunts, Hope smiles at the freeness in Aunt Freya and adores this moment of pure happiness between them, devoid of their troubled and tragic past as Mikaelsons. 

Her aunt’s laughter dies down. “Keelin is special. Her love has given me a place in the world as a Mikaelson more meaning—a more hopeful and pleasant association than I once had.” Aunt Freya taps her fingers on the wheel, lost in memory and love. “Did I ever tell you how I met Keelin?” Hope shakes her head. “Well, I was sleeping beauty, and Keelin was part of the cure to wake me up and…” Freya beams as she regales the beginning of her love story with Keelin. 

Hope’s body relaxes and her eyes droop down, eased by the warm sound of her aunt still lost in love. Soon, she’s drifting away to the soft sounds of piano and the vibrant lull of the journey. 

* * *

_At the top of a cliff, Hope stands in the middle of a field with white and red roses blooming all around her and the cool breeze from the sparkling blue sea wafting through her. She stares at the expansive sea as the giant white clouds drift over it—the sky reflected in the serene blue waters. Hope thinks that not even Monet can capture the beauty of the sight in front of her; a painting or photograph of such an impressive sight is a disgrace to its natural beauty._

_“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” Hope swivels around to see a girl standing there holding a white rose—the very girl that’s been haunting her dreams. She’s dressed in the lovely yellow gown as usual and bears a white veil covering half of her face. But despite the screening, this is the clearest vision Hope has had of her. The girl’s chestnut hair is knotted in a messy bun, a single strand falling down the side of her face. Her brown eyes alluring as ever—warmer than the summer sun._

_“Why do you haunt me?” Hope lifts her hands to the young woman’s face, ready to remove the veil and desperate to take in all of her glorious beauty. But soft hands stop her, holding her hand in place before it can even touch the fabric. “Please,” Hope begs. “I need to see all of you.”_

_The girl shakes her head and tiptoes back. Hope hates the distance between them. “Not yet,” she says._

_Hope drops her hand sadly. “At least tell me your name.”_

_“You know my name,” the girl says cryptically._

_“I don’t know anything!” she cries in frustration. “All I know is that every time I close my eyes you’re there and…and I can’t seem to escape you.” Hope swallows thickly._

_Then, drastically, the sky turns dark as vicious grey clouds hover over them and lightning strikes the ground. Thunder rumbling in the background, Hope watches in horror as vines spring forth and wrap around the mysterious girl, her painful cries piercing Hope’s heart. Hope rushes forward, but then the Earth tremors so violently that it begins to split—a wedge now stands between Hope and the crying girl as she is now left stranded on the cliff; nature adamant to keep them apart._

_“Hope!” Hope rushes to the edge. “Find me, Hope! Find me!”_

_Then a torrent of arrows flies down from the sky and pierces the girl before Hope’s eyes—a bloody and haunting image. “No!” Hope’s voice breaks, the thunder roaring with her in pain, and she can’t bear it. Hope takes a deep breath, stoops down, and kicks her feet off the ground as she runs full force towards the edge and leaps—she’s soaring through mid-air, heart pumping madly, and Hope thinks she can make it. She can make it to—_

_The girl on the other island is now standing upright, arrows piercing her body from all points and blood spooling from their puncture. She’s holding a bow and a bloody arrow is aimed at Hope and her brown eyes are now a heavy black void—cold and soulless._

_She lets the arrow go and Hope watches as it moves at the speed of light and strikes her right in the heart—_

Hope sits up abruptly, choking for air desperately. 

“Breathe, Hope, breathe.” Hope looks to her left to see her Aunt Freya in the driver’s seat. She takes a deep breath and realizes that she’s in the car.

_It was just a dream._ Hope puts her hand over her heart, beating wildly but beating nonetheless. She’s arrow-free and alive.

“Bad dream?” Freya asks. Hope nods silently and rubs her eyes. Squinting her eyes, she notices that they’ve reached Mystic Falls and are pulling up to the boarding school. The sun is setting and there’s a soft orange glow casting over Salvatore as Aunt Freya puts the car in park at the front of the gates. 

Freya rolls down the window and punches in the security code; the gates open wide and Hope’s palms begin to sweat the closer they get, driving up the winding expansive road to the school, the antsier her wolf is becoming. 

The car is put to park in front of the school doors and Hope looks out the window to see Caroline sitting at the steps with a pensive expression to her ageless face. She and her aunt exit the car, and only when the sound of Hope closing the car door shut does Caroline seem to register their presence. 

“Hope!” Caroline clears her throat and Hope notices her wipe a tear away. “Good to see you back!” 

Adjusting her duffel bag on her shoulder, Hope notices the far-off look on Caroline’s face. “Thanks, Caroline. Everything okay?” Hope tentatively asks. Aunt Freya steps to Caroline’s side and pulls her in a friendly embrace. 

“What are you doing out here, Caroline? Were you waiting for someone?” Aunt Freya inquires. 

Caroline sniffles sightly and exhales loudly. “I—it’s weird. I feel as if I’m expecting someone—someone important to come to our steps. Someone that needs me right now.” The headmistress shakes her head and laughs. “Sorry, I’m sounding like a crazy lady again.” But Hope doesn’t think she’s crazy, eerily she can empathize with Caroline. 

“Miss Forbes!” They all turn their head to see Alyssa Chang running to them with an exasperated look. “Lizzie-meltdown in our bedroom,” Alyssa breathes out. 

Caroline straightens up with all the motherly worry crossing her face. She turns to Hope and her Aunt Freya and smiles apologetically, “I have to go take care of that—she’s been having some bad episodes all summer long.” Caroline looks at Hope and places a caring hand on her shoulder. “Welcome back, Hope.” Then the headmistress vamps speeds away into the school. 

“It seems like everyone’s had a tough summer,” Aunt Freya notes. She then faces Hope and affectionally rubs her hands on Hope’s arms soothingly. “You good from here, kiddo?”

Hope nods. “I’m good.” She wraps her arms around her aunt and soaks up the love from her.

Her aunt kisses her head lovingly and whispers, “Have a fun year, Hope.” She pulls back and looks at Hope with seriousness. “I know we’re supernatural and death defying beings, but we still exist to experience life. Life moves pretty fast and you could miss it if you don’t grab it while you can. So be brave and live it.” 

“Were you trying to quote Ferris Bueller?” Hope scrunches her nose. 

Freya rolls her eyes. “Keelin is secretly a John Hughes junkie, don’t tell her I told you that. But the sentiment behind it all the same: don’t be afraid to live your life and embrace the unexpected, Hope.”

“I’ll try.” Hope gives her aunt a lopsided smile and shrugs. 

Aunt Freya nods and gets back in the car. With a final wave, Hope watches as the car grows smaller and smaller as Freya goes back to her cozy and romantic domestic life and leaves Hope alone in front of the Salvatore school again. 

Turning around, Hope takes a deep breath, corrects her duffel bag, and steps in to the rowdy noise of students mingling after a long summer apart. The air is filled with supernatural scents, and Hope’s body tingles at the powerful magic coursing through the plastered walls of Salvatore. 

She passes familiar faces lounging in the common area, witches from various covens showing-off new spells they learned during summer and young ones levitating books in glee—all giddy to exercise magic freely and be around their kind. Hope passes the vampires where Kaleb is regaling a wild story from his summer with MG, going on about some infamous barbecue showdown. MG, however, is sullen in the corner as his usual energy appears to be dialed all the way down. As she passes by, the vampires all stare to look at her with critical eyes—Hope’s inactive vampire genes a constant thorn in her relationship with the group over the years. The only one who offers a welcoming smile is MG as he nods at her in acknowledgment. Hope thinks with MG’s casting off his family, a family who deplores what he is, that he’s more than adept to the feeling of loneliness and isolation among peers.

Hope continues on her trek through bustling students, some who part way for her and others who intentionally bump against her, when she stops at the sight of Landon and Rafael at the bottom of the steps laughing. Hope internally groans and thinks that fate is entirely cruel to her right now—all she craved was to throw herself on her bed and sleep in peace after a long day in the car. She really didn’t want to have this awkward interaction _now._

As she approaches closer, Landon notices her and he stops conversing with Rafael and immediately gets up to greet Hope. 

“Hey, Hope!” his voice breaks as he greets her. Landon clears his throat, “How was your summer?” 

Hope shrugs. “Uneventful,” she confesses. “Spent most of the time at the family mansion not really doing anything.” 

Landon stutters and shoves his hands in his pockets. “O-oh, same.” He awkwardly nods. 

Rafael rolls his eyes. “He’s lying.” Rafael punches Landon lightly. “We spent the summer cruising the West Coast and hitting all the hot spots and meeting hot — "

“O-okay!” Landon nudges for his brother to shut up. His chapped lips form a thin line as he shrugs his shoulders and says, “It wasn’t really that great.” 

Hope shrugs. “You don’t need to sublimate your experience of what sounds like an amazing summer just to make me feel better about my crap one.” 

“O-oh, I wasn’t—I,” he stutters. 

“Look, I was just stuck in a car for hours and I’m tired.” Hope sighs. “We broke up: I’m good, you’re good. Can we not make this awkward?” 

“Right,” Landon exhales painfully as his shoulders droop. He sways a bit from Hope’s directness and then steps out of her way. 

As Hope climbs up the stairs, she hears Rafael whisper: “I guess she’s still a tri _bitch._ ” She grits her teeth, reigning her wolf from wanting to put this pup in place, but Hope continues up the stairs with grace. Engaging with alpha males and causing a scene on the first day of the new school year? Not worth it. Although, Hope admits that it stings a little when she doesn’t hear Landon come to her defense. But what did she expect? She broke his heart, and he doesn’t need to impress Hope anymore or come to her defenses—Landon was never good at doing it in the first place, anyway. 

Turning the corner down a long hall, she notices the door to Lizzie Saltzman’s and Alyssa Chang’s room wide open. From the peripheral of her eyes she sees the siphoner cradled in Caroline’s embrace, red-eyed and teary, as Alyssa is awkwardly sitting on the bed flipping through a magazine. 

Not wanting to intrude in on a private moment, Hope continues down the hall to where her room resides at the end. She opens the door to her room, looking at the empty walls and her vacant bed in the center. _Alone once again._

Hope drops her duffle bag on the floor, kicks the door behind her, and face-plants onto her bed. She turns to her side and stares at the board filled with photos from last year illuminated by colorful Christmas lights—the only semblance of warmth in this cold, vacant room. There are photos of her and Landon, snippets from the game between Mystic Falls High, and postcards from her family. Hope notices an array of photos of Lizzie, awkwardly off to the side with an empty space beside her. She’s never been entirely close to the blonde, so Hope finds it strange to have so many of them. Hope also finds empty photos by the Old Mill and singles of her lounging on the couch inside it—moments Hope can’t recall. 

But Hope doesn’t think much of it as the exhaustion in her bones gives way and her eyes are heavy with sleep. 

Soundly she sleeps, dreaming in pieces of brown eyes, infectious smiles, and breath of roses and early summer warming the coldness that surrounds her. Strangely, she dreams of dancing with a ghost in the middle of the Old Mill under the gold glow of fairy lights. 

* * *

The next morning, Hope is waiting by the docks for Alaric to show up for their usual training sessions. She waits for about 15-minutes before stalking off to find him, slightly concerned but mostly annoyed. Hope knocks on the door to the headmaster's office and when no response is made, she pushes the doors open without hesitation. Upon entering the office, she sees Alaric on his desk snoring soundly. The room reeks of alcohol and Hope moves closer to check his pulse just in case—alive, profusely sweating out scotch, but alive nonetheless. She sees that he’s holding a picture of his late wife, Josette Parker. 

_Josette_. 

A quick sharp pain throbs in her mind and there’s a vision of bright brown eyes and soft laughter that wraps around her heart affectionately. Then a hazy image of overly saturated meadow and vibrant flowers where white roses noticeably clash amongst them in its simple yet elegant beauty. 

Hope braces herself on the desk and tips the glass of scotch over, causing it to roll onto the ground and shatter into pieces. At the sound of the glass breaking and Alaric’s wild gasps as he comes to, the pain subsides and so do the uncanny visions. _What was that?_

“Hope,” Alaric croaks. Hope stands tall in attention and crosses her arms in annoyance at him, the painful visions forgotten in favor to scold her headmaster for throwing her off schedule. Alaric rubs his face in distress and looks up at Hope with blood-shot eyes. “What are you doing here?”

Hope scoffs at him and pointedly glares. “Well, I was waiting for you by the docks for our usual morning spar, but I guess you were too drunk to remember?” She flicks her hand judgingly at the bottle of scotch that is nearly emptied. 

Alaric sighs loudly, the stench of alcohol burning Hope’s already sensitive nose. “I’m sorry, Hope. It’s—it’s been a tough summer.” He stands up, wobbling slightly, and clears his throat. “But that’s still no excuse for my behavior. I promise tomorrow I’ll be there.” 

It could be the way she notices the tear stains on his shirt or the way he is hunching over in shame and regret, but Hope’s annoyance disappears. “It’s fine, I was just worried when you didn’t show up.” She stares at him with concern and wonders how many days this summer did he drown himself in alcohol like this—from the slight pudge of his belly, Hope assumes one too many. How long was summer for Alaric to go from a fit headmaster to a slovenly alcoholic? 

Alaric chugs down a glass of water, spilling it on his shirt in his eager thirst to quench his hung-over cotton mouth. Looking at the mess on his desk, Hope notices an array of ancient texts and sloppily drawn sketches of a winged-demon scattered all over. “Is there a new monster in town? What is it? Where do we start?” Hope says with excitement and vigor. A new monster-hunt to occupy her mind should get the anxieties out of her and give her a sense of normalcy. Maybe it will be an explanation to these strange dreams and visions she’s having, and hopefully it’ll put an end to them. 

“Don’t worry about that,” he says off-handedly, as if Hope hasn’t been his loyal partner in crime since day one with the monster-hunts. Alaric tiredly rubs his face and then fixes his tie, attempting to redeem a facade of a responsible non-alcoholic headmaster. “You should go get ready for class, Hope.” He starts to collect all the papers on his desk and shoves them recklessly into one of the drawers and locks it shut. “Enjoy your last year at Salvatore as a normal teen.” 

“We’re a group of supernatural beings, none of us are really normal,” Hope snarks, eyes glued to where he shoved the papers. 

“True, but that doesn’t mean you can’t engage in the normal activities your peers around you participate in. Go to parties, eat at the Mystic Grill, play Wickery, watch a movie down by the Mill,” he lists. “Have fun and experience life while you’re young.” 

What is with everyone trying to tell her to enjoy life all of a sudden? Hope enjoys life—she just enjoys it whilst brooding. 

Hope clicks her tongue and rolls her eyes at him. “Doing all those things requires having real friends—which I don’t have,” she painfully reminds him. 

Alaric gives her a sympathetic smile. “Never too late to start.” 

Hope is about to retaliate his sentiment when the door opens and Lizzie Saltzman prances in, her troubled demeanor the other day washed away and replaced with a vibrant and determined aura. 

Brimming with confidence, Lizzie radiantly smiles at her dad. “Daddy, Alyssa and I were—what are you doing here?” Lizzie sneers in disgust when she notices Hope in the room. 

Hope taps her chin in mocking thought. “I do believe I go here, Lizzie. You know, for the past 4 years or so.” 

Lizzie shrugs, “Has it been that long? I’m surprised I’m still able to see with how my eyes bleed at the sight of you brooding our hallways consistently.” 

“I think that’s actually just your reflection that’s the cause. I understand, I’d be petrified too.” 

Lizzie opens her mouth to retort with another vicious jab at Hope, but Alaric stops them. “Girls, stop,” he groans and rubs his temples in frustration. “Lizzie-bear, what brings you here so early.” 

Lizzie huffs at Hope and then faces her dad with a saccharine smile. “Alyssa and I were talking—”

“Since when were you and Alyssa so close? I thought you hated her?” Hope wonders. Seriously, what happened during summer?

Lizzie and Alaric stare at her strangely. “Did you hit your head one too many times this summer bumping uglies with Napoleon Dynamite that you’ve forgotten that she’s my best friend and we’ve been roommates since the school opened?” 

There’s so much in that sentence that Hope doesn’t have time to retaliate when a montage of images through the years flash through her mind of Lizzie and Alyssa together constantly. From tormenting other witches to starting false rumors about Hope—the two were the diabolical HBIC’s of every high school experience. 

Why did Hope forget that? 

“Right,” Hope mumbles. “Slipped my mind.” 

“Anyway,” Lizzie drawls and shifts back to her main point. “As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, Alyssa and I were talking about throwing a welcome back party this weekend and we need you to sign off on everything we already ordered.” She hands her dad an iPad, waiting for an electronic signature. 

Alaric scratches his head and squints his eyes at the screen, Hope assumes his alcohol-driven stupor still has mind boggled. 

“Uh, can your mother sign this off?” 

Lizzie crosses her arms and huffs. “She’s out running through the woods again, searching for gods knows what. I’m starting to get worried about her, Dad.” 

Alaric sighs. “Me too.” He lazily signs his name and when it dings in confirmation Lizzie squeals. 

“Thanks, Dad!” Lizzie takes the device and skips out of the office in glee. 

“You know, there were probably things on that list other than party decorations and more for Lizzie’s personal and recreational use.” 

Alaric drops into his seat and waves Hope away, “Go to class, Hope.” 

* * *

Later in the day, Hope finds herself in the library. A strange yet familiar scent that lingers in the room draws her to this part of the school. She’s scanning the shelves when she notices MG alone in the corner of the library. 

They’ve never been close, but Hope knows the boy is one of the sweeter vampires at the school—barring his blood-lust and ripper problem. He’s usually seen with Kaleb or reading comics. Hope has often seen him eyeing Lizzie Saltzman—his crush on the blonde was not a secret to the whole school. He dotes on her despite her barely acknowledging him more than her own personal lackey. 

She taps her finger against the edge of the shelves and Aunt Freya and Alaric’s voice rings in the back of her head, telling her to grab life and try to make the most of her last year here.

Despite the extreme discomfort at social interaction, Hope bites her lips and grabs a random book without thinking and approaches him. She hovers awkwardly by his table and clears her throat. 

MG is startled from his comic book and looks up at Hope in hesitation. “Uh, hey, Hope. Something wrong?”

“No I was just—do you mind some company?” Hope waves the book awkwardly. MG looks at her curiously and he slowly shakes his head. Hope sits down and fidgets awkwardly in front of him. “So, what are you reading?”

He blinks and then grins widely. “ _Watchmen—_ have you heard of it?” Hope shakes her head. “It’s great! It’s about superheroes, but not like glorified superheroes that are perfect like the ones they show nowadays. They’re like actual superheroes that are flawed and complex. I used to read it all the time with—” MG stops mid-sentence and furrows his brows. He clears his throat, “I used to read it by myself. I always liked the idea of having a Super Squad here.” He shrugs. Then he looks down at the book Hope had randomly picked: The Tragic Love Stories in Mythology. 

“Oh, interesting.” MG scratches his chin. “I heard you and Landon the other day—I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, I swear,” he stumbles out quickly. “But if you ever need someone to talk to, I know we’re not close or anything, but my ears are open.”

“No, that not why—I didn’t even know what book I pulled out,” she stammers out in embarrassment. 

MG holds up his hands. “Hey, no judgment here.” 

“Right,” Hope breathes out. 

“Just sounds like a really depressing read.” He shrugs. 

And something pulls at Hope as she responds with such clarity: “The greatest loves are the ones that are worth fighting for. According to mythology, they are also the ones worth dying for.” Hope furrows her brows and the next words slip through her mouth, subconsciously pulled from the recess of her mind. “The greatest lessons can be learnt from great tales of love.”

MG looks at her with astonishment, surprised at how eloquent Hope is speaking about this. To be honest, so is Hope. _Where the hell did that come from?_ It was as if she responded automatically and her heart was screaming at her to remember something. Something important. 

“That was beautiful, Hope.” MG smiles at her. “I didn’t know you were so passionate about mythology or love stories.” _I’m not._ Hope’s never read a single thing about mythology or even the popular ones—she’s always preferred to look at paintings of them instead.

Then the doors to the library swing open and Lizzie Saltzman stomps her way in. Her arms are crossed, and she’s scanning the room for something—someone. Her eyes are wet with tears and she’s sniffling. But the melancholic aura on the young siphon disappears at the sight of Hope and turns murderous instead. She begins to rage her way over and Hope hears MG’s tiny yelp as he fumbles in his seat. 

“Why are you two together?” Lizzie scowls. MG fumbles for an answer, but Lizzie cuts him off. “MG stop fraternizing with the enemy… I need you to come help me.” 

Momentarily, MG is stunned at Lizzie needing him but then quickly recovers as he immediately clears his throat and leaps from his seat. “O-of course! What do you need me to do? I’m your man!” MG puffs out his chest dramatically. Hope has to roll her eyes at how smitten he is. Lizzie groans annoyingly at MG, but Hope notices how the harsh frown lines of Lizzie’s face eases.

“Alyssa and I need an errand boy to help us with the welcome back party this Friday and I nominated you. Now let’s go—it reeks of a certain mutt in here.” Lizzie quips and turns away to stomp her way to the exit. 

Hope scoffs and looks at gleeful MG. “You know, you don’t have to let her boss you around like that just because you like her,” Hope says. 

MG is scrambling to shove all his comics in his bag and then looks at Hope confidently. “I don’t really mind. I promised I would always be there for her,” MG takes a moment to pause, in a silent state of confusion by the furrow of his brows, and then continues on. “Anyway, you know what it’s like when you’re in love with someone. You want to be around them all the time, during the good and the bad. It hurts when you’re not around them and your heart screams for you to get as close as possible just to stop that ache. If this is the closest I can get right now, I’ll take it.” Lizzie screams out for MG to hurry and he gives Hope an apologetic smile before vamp speeding away. 

Hope sits there and thinks about what MG said. That feeling of always wanting to be around someone? No, she doesn’t know. Whenever Hope was with Landon, she would count the minutes and was always acutely aware of how much time they were together. Most of the time there was a breaking point where Hope just needed to be alone—take a breather. But then Landon would pout and make her feel guilty for wanting to end their “quality” time together shortly. It always left Hope inexplicably exhausted and drained.

So, no, she’s never met someone who makes her feel that inseparable magnetic pull that MG was describing. 

Hope gets up to leave and puts the book back on the shelf, but then she feels a sudden urge to keep it with her. Thinking of her earlier response to MG, Hope is intrigued by its contents. She holds the book close to her chest and leaves the library with it, not knowing why she feels that there’s something hidden between the words for her to unravel. 

In her room, laying on her bed, she opens the first page to the love story of Ceyx and Alycone:

_We begin with a love story that reminds us that even in tragedy, love will always conquer. The story of the King and Queen of Trachis show us a love so great that not even death nor the Gods were able to separate them…_

Hope falls asleep dreaming of a love that can conquer even death—she dreams of a beautiful girl in a yellow dress holding her closely in the middle of the woods, whispering her undying love to Hope. 

* * *

The following days are quite uneventful and monotonous: Hope spends the mornings training with a hungover Alaric, then attends classes about magic that she already learned when she was five with Aunt Freya, and the rest is spent avoiding Landon’s pitiful eyes or dodging Lizzie and Alyssa’s hazing warpath. Lizzie’s death glares towards Hope has been immensely unsettling and she wonders what the hell did she do to make the siphoner angrier at her than usual. 

Thankfully, Hope has found solace in her cordial acquaintanceship with MG at the very least—they’ve only made small talk for the past few days, but it’s enough to make Hope feel like there’s a promising friendship blooming there. They have absolutely _nothing_ in common, but Hope doesn’t think that deters MG from telling her random superhero facts even though she hardly knows any of the names or comics he spews out. In those small moments, Hope thinks that MG has been missing a friend to talk to like this. 

She and MG are sitting in the lounge with comics all splayed out in front of them as MG is energetically explaining some convoluted theory to Hope. “So, there’s like multiple universes right? The multi-verse theory—a theory where there are multiple versions of Earth and multiple versions of us.” Hope nods slowly, really not following what MG is going on about. “According to DC, we live in one sphere with 52 versions of Earth that vibrate at different frequencies—hence why Flash is able to travel to different universes because of his vibrational speed. I guess vamp speed isn’t fast enough to time travel.” MG pouts and then gets back to explaining to Hope about this complicated topic. 

Honestly, all Hope said when she sat down was why were Gods in mythology so obsessed with who was banging who and tormenting mortals. Then MG started talking about how Gods were like flawed superheroes but on a higher dimension, and then he pulled out this elaborate and confusing model and started explaining the multiverse theory. 

“But then outside of our own dimension is one with the Gods—the Sphere of the Gods. They contain all the mythical creatures and Gods and Goddesses that we read about in mythology.” At this point Hope has checked out and is staring at MG with a blank expression, more attuned to the wood crackling in the fireplace beside them than MG’s theory. “If we exist, vampires, witches, werewolves, etc. Then isn’t it possible that the gods in mythology exist too?” 

MG stares at Hope, waiting for an answer, but honestly Hope still has no idea what the hell MG is going on about. 

“Gods were just labels invented to explain the unexplainable—to establish a system of beliefs to control society.” Hope has never been so thankful for Lizzie’s interruption as the blonde plops down next to MG and scoffs at the model he was holding. “Marvel’s multiverse theory is way better than DC’s,” Lizzie snorts quietly to herself, but Hope and MG heard her loud and clear. MG is grinning at the statement and is blushing beside Lizzie. 

Lizzie then shakes her head and clears her throat, “Anyway, nerds, I wanted to invite you to the party Saturday night.” 

Hope quirks her eyebrow. “The Welcome Back party? Isn’t that an open invitation to all students?” 

The blonde rolls her eyes. “The Welcome Back party is a guise for my parents and for the younger and more innocent kids. I’m talking about the more salacious party away from my parents eyes that will happen _after_ at the Old Mill.” Lizzie shrugs her shoulders and points daggers at Hope. “Invite curly-top too if it pleases you.” 

MG eyes go wide and looks between Hope and Lizzie, worried that Lizzie has crossed a line.

“Landon and I broke up right before summer. We’re not together anymore, so you can invite him yourself or whatever,” Hope says matter-of-factly. Honestly, she’s surprised the news didn’t travel faster. Everyone will find out eventually now that Lizzie knows. 

Lizzie’s death glare lessens and Hope thinks that she almost looks proud. “Well, brava. Finally got rid of the toad. Took you long enough.” 

“Thanks, I guess?” Hope scrunches her face. 

The blonde nods and fiddles with the moonstone pendant hanging around her neck. Hope watches as Lizzie holds the pendant tightly, a slight glow to it, and stares off in the distance. The blonde nibbles at her lips nervously, contemplating for a brief moment before breaking the silence. “Have you guys noticed…something off this year?” 

“Off like how?” MG asks. 

Lizzie holds the pendant and glances at Hope curiously. “Like when Hope was missing from our memories after she jumped in Malivore— _that_ off feeling.” And the three of them sit there with Lizzie’s statement hanging in the air, all tense and deep in thought. Wordlessly, there’s an agreement between the three that they all feel that nagging feeling of something amiss. Hope wonders if Lizzie or MG have been having weird dreams too. 

“Do you think… that we are forgetting someone?” Lizzie’s words suspend heavily between them and Hope shivers at the thought—the thought of someone important, someone they all love, scared and alone. Hope heart aches when brown eyes flash in her mind. 

But all of them are startled from silence when Alaric comes rushing over to them. “Hope,” he huffs out breathlessly. The way his eyes are dilated with fear makes her stand up instantly. “New monster—big monster. We need to go, now.” 

* * *

“So what exactly are we hunting?” Hope looks down at the massive imprint, a hoofed animal, and Hope is uneasy at how small she feels compared to it. She and Alaric have been searching for hours for the beast, passing through clearings in the woods with fallen trees from the monster’s destructive warpath. The sun is setting and Hope does not find the idea of tracking an enormous beast with her headmaster through the night her ideal way to end the day. Hope takes a deep breath and focuses her hearing trying to locate it. The air is suddenly filled with a distinct pungent odor as she hears a low rumble—Hope hones in on the sound with intense concentration. 

Alaric’s voice pierces through it though as he whispers, “Do you hear anything?” 

Hope shushes him immediately and listens again. The rumbling is louder and louder and—her eyes snap open as Hope falls down from the sheer force of the beast quaking the ground. Hope freezes as a gigantic boar towering amongst the trees rampages towards her and Alaric. Its demonic red eyes targets Hope and Alaric and, like a missile, the beast rockets towards them with clouds of dust trailing behind it. 

Alaric grabs Hope by her elbow and screams, “Run!” 

They’re both running away from the boar charging at them, terrified as it appears bigger and bigger each time Hope looks behind her. “What is that?” Hope yells incredulously. 

“An Erymanthian Boar…” Alaric pants breathlessly. “I’ve only read about it in Greek legends—the infamous tale with Heracles and—”

Alaric trips on a root and gets a mouthful of dirt as he topples over. 

Hope tries to get him up, but the sheer force of the boar’s pounding hooves pushes her off balance. 

Just when Hope thinks they’re about to be trampled on, Alaric and her are rushed off the boar’s path and it zooms past them. Hope looks up to see Caroline and MG, both using their vampire strength and speed to save Hope and Alaric in time. Hiding behind a tree is Lizzie, Lizzie with frightened eyes peering over at the screeching monster.

“That is one massive pig,” Lizzie states incredulously. 

“What are you all doing here?” Alaric huffs as he gets up, holding his protruding belly as he struggles to get up. “Lizzie, what happened? Are you hurt?” Lizzie hair is frazzled and her arms are caked in dirt and scratches. Hope notices how she’s leaning more on her right side with her left foot hovering slightly above ground. 

“I’m fine, Dad.” Lizzie crosses her arms. “Just fell trying to get away from that pig-monster.” 

“Caroline, it’s dangerous out here. You should have kept them at the school.” Caroline and Alaric start to get in a heated debate about how Alaric is only human and completely out of shape to be monster-hunting with Hope alone—Hope can’t help but concur with her headmistress. At the same time, Hope thinks they all shouldn’t be here. It’s too dangerous with all of them. 

But the heated debates are silenced as MG calls their attention to the boar charging directly at them once more. 

“Lizzie, repeat after me!” Hope reaches out her hand for Lizzie to siphon from as she screams, “ _Ventus.”_ Lizzie mimics the incantation and a torrent of wind is directed towards the oncoming beast. But Hope and Lizzie are gripped with fear as the spell only pushes the beast off-path momentarily before it resets its direction at them. Hope then yells another incantation rapidly, _“Crescere arbor!”_ Lizzie follows and vines rapidly rush from the ground and entraps the boar. 

Lizzie and Hope step back, Lizzie limping back into MG’s protective hold, as they see the creature already ripping from its binds. “It’s unstoppable,” Lizzie frets fearfully. 

Hope’s eyes flash gold as she looks at all of them. “Get back to the school! I’ll take it deeper into the woods and distract it,” she growls out. 

“Don’t be absurd! You’re just a kid!” Alaric retorts.

Caroline shakes her head at Hope. “We’re not leaving you to fend this off on your own, Hope.” 

“Lizzie is injured, Alaric is unable to keep up, and the boar is heading straight to the school!” She sees the size of the boar getting more massive the closer it gets and her heart is thrumming in fear. “There’s no time to argue this, I’m the only one that can keep up with it right now. You need to get back and keep everyone safe.” Hope urges Caroline to go and then steps in the path where she’s within the boar’s view. 

The boar tears from the binds completely and roars at Hope. Hope throws a fireball that hits the creature, taunting it to chase after Hope. The beast wails loudly, its piercing cries nearly shattering their ear drums, and charges at Hope. 

“Go, now!” Hope yells at them and starts running further into the woods with a monstrous pig-beast hot on her tail. She’s swerving between trees to slow the creature down, jumping over fallen trees and dodging the beasts every charge as best as she can. With her lungs burning, Hope thinks she’s been running for hours. Hope prays that the rest of the group escaped in time as she can feel the sharp points of the boars tusks graze her back. 

Not wanting to be impaled, Hope drives up an oncoming tree and backflips into the air. Hope roughly lands on top of the boar, the monster’s tusks stuck in the thick bark of the tree. She digs her claws in the flesh of the beast and clamps on as it thrashes ferociously, trying to buck Hope off its back and dislodge its tusks from the tree. 

Wrestling to figure out a way to kill the beast, Hope digs her claws in deeper and the sickening squelch of the beast’s blood gives Hope an idea. She starts to mutter an incantation, an electric charge emanating from her hands, when the beast cries painfully and tosses Hope off its back before she can complete the spell. 

She rolls along the gravel and hears her ribs cracking at the sheer force of the impact. Thankfully, her tribrid healing works fast enough for her to get back on her feet as the boar snarls and prepares to charge at her again. As it comes full force at her, she ducks and rolls off to the side and barely gets clipped by its tusks, a painful gash on her side. Despite the pain, Hope continues to to run deeper into the woods and farther away from the school. 

With the throbbing aches of her muscles burning from overexertion and the stinging pain from the cut on her side, Hope is beginning to see spots in her vision. The approaching sound of the boar makes Hope falter and she knows that won’t be able to dodge it in time. She performs another spell to bind the beast with vines and Hope nearly blacks out from that spell alone. The more she performs a spell, the more weary she is becoming. 

Hope needs to find a place to hide. _Now_. 

As the boar thrashes and rips from the binds, Hope manages enough distance until she skids to a stop—standing precariously at the edge of a sinkhole. There’s the roaring sound of the waterfall and Hope looks down at the sinkhole, unsure of its depth and what exactly will wait for her at the bottom. She looks behind her to see the boar shaking the vines off and then looks down at the abyss. To be impaled by a nasty boar or fall into the unknown? At the sound of the wild boar irate squeals, Hope decides to face the unknown and jumps off the edge. 

She’s tumbling down and is grunting through the pain as she bounces off the cave walls. Hope then gets a mouthful of twigs and leaves as extending trees smack her in the face and she takes a deep breath, muttering a levitation spell to slow down her fall—expending what little energy she has. 

The spell barely goes into full effect before Hope is landing roughly on the floor of the sinkhole. Instead of solid rock that she expects her body to break at impact on, she lands on soft grass and rolls until she’s on her back and staring up at the twilight moon.

Twisting and turning in pain, thorns pricking into her skin, Hope squints her eyes open to see that she’s in a field of white roses. She stares up at the moon hanging above her and squints to see the outline of the boar screeching down at her. Closing her eyes, Hope listens. The beast is roaring and stamping around the sinkhole, frustrated at Hope escaping. She holds her breath in fear until finally the boar stomps away and the sound of its pounding hooves fade. Hope exhales loudly and lets her body sink into the bed of roses, letting her tribrid healing slowly do its magic. With her eyes still closed, Hope lets the cool night air ease her weary bones and the tranquil sound of the water rushing nearby to lull her into a deep state of relaxation.

She’s about to let the exhaustion deep in her bones win when her ears perk at the sound of soft exhales and a beating heart that certainly do not belong to her. 

Hope immediately sits up in shock, wincing at the cracking of her bones being set in place from the swift movement, and is aghast with the sight of a glass coffin in the middle of the sinkhole. She stands up slowly, her heart pulsating wildly and goosebumps rising all over, and cautiously approaches the coffin. 

“Hello? I’m sorry if I disturbed you sleeping… in your coffin?” Hope finds the situation even stranger when there’s no response. She approaches closer and suddenly, with her eyes sharply taking in the person within the glass coffin, Hope freezes at the beautiful sight that takes her breath away.

In a deep slumber within the glass coffin is a girl in a yellow gown—a girl so beautiful that the moon anchors itself directly above her, shinning down on her in the darkness of the night to marvel at her beauty. Hope is gripped with inexplicable emotions as she stumbles closer with watery eyes. 

Hope, in a trance, touches the glass and stares in awe at the girl. Her eyes notices a white rose clutched by dainty hands and the shimmering glint of a rose pendant that rests by her heart. Instantly, Hope knows this is the hazy figure that appears in every single one of her dreams since summer has started. This time though, the mysterious and once faceless girl is before hope with such beautiful and startling clarity. 

Hope is surprised by her own tears that drip onto the glass case, her heart aching with familiarity but her mind unable to find logic as to why. 

Briefly, Hope wonders if she’s actually dreaming. If the monster has pushed her off the edge and she’s laying unconscious somewhere and this is another ambiguous and bizarre dream. If this is all but another vision of the mystery girl that has plagued her all summer. 

But with the way her skin is electrified—Hope acutely aware of every nerve of her body and every heighten sensation from the curling of her toes in her battered boots to the beads of sweat coated on her forehead—Hope knows this isn’t a dream. She’s never felt so awake—so _alive._

And because of that, Hope’s mind is at a dissonance with her heart. She is unable to fathom and process how a girl she’s only seen in her dreams has evoked such powerful and rare emotions within her just by mere sight alone. Her hands fisted tightly at her sides, Hope is riddled with a plethora of questions.

But the most important one that plagues her: “Who are you?” 

Softly, she knocks her knuckles against the glass. “Excuse me?” Hope clears her throat. “I don’t mean to disturb you, but can you please wake up?” she asks with such awkwardness that she cringes at herself. When there is no response, Hope knocks a little harder on the glass. 

“My dear, she can’t hear you.” Hope is startled by the sound of a silky English accent and she twirls around to see a dark-skinned woman in a flowing white dress perched on a branch above her. The woman dives to Hope, fluttering her angel-like wings as she lands softly on the grass. 

Baffled at the peculiar figure, Hope falters backwards and hits her back against the glass coffin. “What are you?” 

The woman flicks sleek long hair over her shoulders and grins mischievously at Hope. “The harbinger for lovers, the guider of lost loves, and the healer for the broken ones.” She manifests a single arrow and twirls it between her fingers with a flair of showmanship. Hope remains silent, cautious and confused. The winged-figure scoffs and crosses her arms as the arrow evaporates in thin air. “I’m what your kind calls Cupid,” she sneers.

“You’re Cupid? But aren’t you supposed to be in diapers and… like a guy?” Hope glares skeptically at the woman. 

“My real name is Eros, the Goddess of Love and _daughter_ of Aphrodite.” Eros waves her hand dramatically. “Mortals and their phallocentric governments falsely assumed I was a man and commodified me into a silly holiday—my power and beauty degraded by gaudy flowers and cheap chocolate.” The goddess clicks her tongue in annoyance. “But as much as I want to go on about the slander of my name by mortals, we have more pressing issues to discuss.” Eros smiles slyly and then glides over to the other side of the glass coffin. 

Hope spins around to see Eros placing her hand on the glass material, her hand glowing white as the glass case starts to dematerialize right before Hope’s eyes. Eros reaches down and fondly caresses the sleeping girl’s cheek. 

Immediately, Hope chest rumbles and she growls loudly at the sight. “Don’t touch her,” she seethes. A fierce anger coursing through her, her wolf seeping through with its protective nature. 

Eros smirks and holds her hands up. “Sorry, love. Just checking to see if my child is alright.” 

Hope’s golden eyes flick skeptically at the mythical goddess. “She’s your daughter? Is she a goddess too?”

“Technically, all you mortals are the Gods children as we created you,” Hope glares unamused and Eros relents. “She is a goddess, yes, but she is not my daughter by blood per se. I cherish for her like one though, fondly so. My even wife even more than I.” Eros smiles reverently as a butterfly flutters by and lands gently on the white rose clutched in the dreaming girl’s hands. “Sadly, it is not her time to accompany us just yet, anyway.” Eros says whimsically and shines her luminous eyes at Hope. “Once she is awaken, she has a grand adventure ahead of her before she can ascend to Olympus with us.” 

“Is she under a spell? Is that why she can’t hear me?” Hope asks quickly, frantic for answers on this fascinating stranger. 

Eros nods. “In order to safeguard her soul from being found, she was placed under a temporary sleeping spell.” The goddess waves her arms around the expanse of the enchanting meadow hidden in the sinkhole. “This place is bound by divine magic that hides her from the eyes of those that seek to harm her—only a select few can enter.”

“Who is after her? Why do they want her soul?” Hope rushes out in dread. 

The goddess opens her mouth and then begrudgingly closes it. “Unfortunately, I am forbidden to say.” Eros eyes the sky with indignation. 

Hope groans frustrated at the lack of answers. “How long until spells wears off? How am I suppose to awaken her?”

“You could always kiss her and see if she wakes up?” The goddess crooked smile makes Hope blanche. 

“I am _not_ kissing her in her sleep—she’s practically a stranger to me. I especially will not without her consent!” Hope says heatedly, cheeks flaming from the mere thought. 

Eros rolls her eyes. “Calm down, love. I was just teasing.” The goddess grins wickedly and then stretches her arms out to her sides as brown eyes shift to a shimmering gold. “I can not offer you all the answers you desire, but I am here to deliver a message.” Eros grows and stretches to the sky, her godliness on full display. Eros deep voice resounds throughout the sinkhole. “Here this great Hope, for this prophecy is for your ears alone: 

Two souls will reunite, one of light and the other in plight, but both bound to a perilous fight. Tainted by a vengeful curse, their souls are destined to the darkness until it is reversed. A mighty foe puppeteers the game, a ravenous appetite that cannot be tamed. Two souls with a love so pure, their fated reunion by true loves kiss will be the cure.” 

Eros bares her pearly white teeth at Hope, her golden eyes filled with mirth. “What a lovely prophecy don’t you think?” A cold breeze blows through and Hope watches as Eros expands her wings. “Unfortunately, love, this is where I take my leave,” Eros sighs pitifully. 

Hope is flabbergasted by the eerie prophecy and unsure what her role in this all is. “Wait! I don’t understand! What does the prophecy mean? Who are the two souls? _Who_ is she?” Hope calls out. 

“That is for you to find out, love. Best of luck, Hope.” Eros winks at Hope and then magically transforms into a flock of doves that flitters out of the opening of the sinkhole. White feathers sway to the ground and Hope is once again left alone with only the moon and the sleeping goddess as company on this cool night. Hope huffs out in frustration and looks down at the sleeping girl in concern. 

A white feather falls down on the young goddess’s face and Hope delicately removes it, her skin burning at the soft contact against the girl’s smooth cheek. Hope leans slightly forward, her hand ghosting over the delicate features of the sleeping goddess. _True loves kiss will be the cure._ Hot tears rush down Hope’s face at the confusing ache that fractures her to the core. Her thick tears, filled with unknowing want and despair, drips onto the girl’s face and travels into the core of the white diamond of the rose pendant that rests over the goddess’s heart. 

“How can I help you if I don’t even know how to lift this spell?” 

Hope’s emotional haze and befuddled state is broken as a sharp scream for her name alerts her—a piercing cry that breaks the ethereal fog of this wondrous place. The outside world beckons Hope to retreat from this magical place, from the beautiful goddess that is bound here by a slumbering spell. 

But the clearer and fervent Lizzie’s cries and Alaric’s aggravated huffs become, Hope knows that she needs to tear herself away from the sleeping beauty and save them. Painfully, Hope steps away. Each backward step Hope takes away from the girl is like a knife twisting in her heart, stitches undone with the growing distance between them. She deplores the thought of leaving the young goddess alone again, but the ragged screams for Hope forces her to extricate herself and rush to the reality that needs her. 

_I’ll come back for you, I swear._

Gliding through the cave, Hope parts the waterfall with a spell and jumps through. She hurries towards the sound of a battle and the high-pitch squeals of a wild beast. Hope’s foggy brain from earlier clears the moment she sees Lizzie on the ground clutching her broken ankle and MG protectively hovering over her as Alaric and Caroline distract the beast. Alaric is shooting arrows from his crossbow at the boar as Caroline is attempting to goad the beast away from Lizzie and MG.

Hope, palms thrusted towards the beast, screams “ _Ignarious!_ ” A wave of fire engulfs the boar as it thrashes against the ground trying to extinguish the flames. 

“Hope!” Alaric breathes out in relief as Hope scurries towards the group. “What happened to your side?” He stares worriedly at the torn fabric of her cardigan that exposes the red jagged scar from Hope’s close encounter with the boar earlier. 

She shakes her head. “I’m fine. What are you all still doing out here?” Hope scolds. “Lizzie… your ankle.” Hope cringes at the way Lizzie’s ankle is now bending painfully, throbbing red, and obviously broken. Hope bites her skin and offers her blood to Lizzie. “Drink, now.” 

The blonde winces but drinks the blood from Hope’s wrist and her shoulders sag in relief as her pain subsides and her ankle sets back in place. Lizzie releases her lips and wipes the blood away in disgust and spits at the ground. “This is the last time I try to play hero—I’ll leave stupid heroics to you, Hope.” Lizzie wobbles slightly as she gets up and rotates her freshly healed ankle with ease. 

“You should,” Hope grits. She can’t have anyone getting hurt—not again. Hope is the one with tribrid healing and strength and she’s the one who will protect everyone. Lizzie getting hurt is the exact reason Hope fights alone. 

“We wanted to help,” MG says guiltily and Hope notices the way his face is marred with bruises and scars—wounds that should be healed by his vampire blood but are still fresh. Hope clenches her fist at failing to stop the beast in the first place. 

Caroline vamps towards them. “It doesn’t matter now, we _all_ need to get to safety.” The headmistress pointedly glares at Hope. “Even with all of us combined, we can’t stop it. Not right now.” 

Alaric nods in agreement. “The Erymanthian Boar is too fast and too strong. Even with supernatural speed, it’s impossible to get close to even try to land a blow. We need to get back to school, recuperate, and formulate a plan.” 

“I think we need to leave now because it looks like the pig didn’t like Hope trying to barbecue it earlier,” Lizzie points and they all turn to see the boar snarling at them, red eyes honing in on Hope. 

The furious beast is now coming at them at full speed and Hope growls, “ _Scutum_.” With her arms out, Hope creates an invisible shield as the monster crashes into it and wails in aggravated pain. It continues to ram against the barrier and Hope is gritting her teeth trying to hold it together, her arms unsteadily shaking.

“I’ll hold it back as long as I can—run! I’ll be right behind you!” Alaric shoots out the last of his arrows at the beast and then starts running. The shield is cracking under the brute force of the boar and Hope is harshly flung backwards as it completely breaks by another powerful charge. Hope is on the ground and the monstrous boar is standing above her, puffing and huffing angrily. It rears its head backward, ready to pulverize Hope, and she can hear Alaric running back and screaming out to her. 

But then a sleet of arrows hail from the sky and pierces the thick flesh of the boar, the beasts black blood oozing from the wounds. It wails wildly and before Hope can scramble away she is swept away by strong warm arms. 

Hope is deposited lightly on the ground and she notes the rest of the group is now by her, peering up with full eyes and open mouths. She glances up at her savior and her heart instantly leaps from her rib cage. 

Before them is the once slumbering goddess she discovered in the sinkhole, now vibrantly alive as her luminous glow lights up the night with her imposing stature. Her brown locks billow freely in the night air and Hope is taken aback by the expansive translucent butterfly wings now tied to the girl. 

The wings extend out protectively—acting as a wall from any oncoming attacks from the monstrous hog. Hope holds her breath as the beast starts to charge at maximum velocity and her entire being screams to save the girl, but then the enigmatic goddess materializes a bow and arrow in her hands—an intricately designed wooden recurve bow with unfamiliar text emanating a fierce white glare. 

Hope watches as stable hands pull back the drawstring of the bow, aiming the pointed steel of the arrow at the incoming boar and releases it. The force of the release sends a mighty gust behind them and Hope digs her claws in the ground to keep her from spiraling backwards with the others. 

Suddenly, everything proceeds in slow motion to Hope. The arrow is spinning and spinning and just before it penetrates the spot between the boar’s eyes, Hope hears the girl whisper an incantation: “ _Bruciare supe terram, faciendo ignis ga praemium.”_

In an instant, they are blinded by a fiery light as the boar combusts and is violently consumed by dangerous flames—it’s dying squeals submitting to the roaring fire. The sky is bright with embers as their savior turns around and stares at them with her brilliant golden eyes. 

Hope turns her head to see Alaric, Caroline, MG, and Lizzie all equally shocked yet enamored by the goddess in front of them—all of their eyes misting at the figure. Hope wonders if they are also struck by her beauty. 

The goddess then shrinks down to a mortal size, her golden glow diminishing and Hope’s heart jumps at the sight of brown eyes that have been haunting her. 

Hope scrambles to her feet and swallows thickly as she is pulled in by brown eyes illuminated by the burning glow of the fire. “Who are you?” she asks with desperation. 

_Please. I need to know._

The girl steps closer, faltering in her steps, and weakly says: “Josette—Josie. My name is Josie,” her voice thick with emotions. 

_Josie._

“Josie,” Hope voice trembles as the sweet name rolls off her tongue. Josie’s eyes roll back and falls in exhaustion. Hope surges forward and catches Josie in her arms. 

With the sky lit by ashes of the fire, the night radiates a fantastical image straight out of a fairy tale as those bright spots in the sky freeze around them—suspended and steadfast. They burn a hot glare in the night and start to swirl around Josie and Hope, Hope captivated in awe. She holds Josie tight to her, not daring to let go. 

In a hot flash, the bright embers now burning a golden glow, start to soar down into the gem of Josie’s necklace. One by one, little bright dots drift into the white diamond of the rose pendant and it gleams heavenly as they do so—a beautiful starlight glow encasing Josie. 

When the last ball of light disappears into the pendant, a bright explosion of light breaks through the night—a blinding atomic light that runs for miles. As the lights die behind her eyes, Hope opens her eyes to the calm night and a sleeping goddess in her arms. 

“What was that?” Hope hears Lizzie’s incredulous voice booming in the background. But the world around her blurs and focuses on the clear outline of the beautiful girl in her arms. 

Her heart beats soundly in her ears and she succumbs to the landslide of emotions—of the unbearable ache relieved by the steady rhythm of Josie’s lively heart. Her cheeks are wet with tears and Hope holds Josie close, merging her pulse with Josie’s and delighted at the synchronicity of their beats. 

Hope can feel her bleeding heart mend—the gash on her broken heart being slowly stitched—and she feels whole. 

Her soul elated and brimming as Hope chants in her head: 

_I found you, Josie. I found you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won't make you wait too long for the next chapter! Hopefully, if my editing goes uninterrupted and I don't get some wild ideas that make me scrap it all, it should be uploaded by the end of this weekend or early next week. Stay safe and keep on wearing your masks!


	6. Part II : Be Still, My Beating Heart

Whispers roam the halls that night, wild tales about the goddess now sleeping within the walls of Salvatore. Outside of the infirmary, Hope can hear the gossips: 

“I heard she strangled the beast and killed it with her bare hands,” one spoke falsely. 

“I heard that she fell from the sky like an alien from outer space,” a shrill voice cries. 

“I heard she’s one of those mutant experiments like the X-Men and they found her in a lab,” another shrieks.

“I heard that they exposed her to so much radiation that the blast we saw earlier was a nuclear bomb she blew straight from her mouth,” another wild and hyperbolic gossip spun. 

Hope is getting a migraine from the nosy and incredulous gossip. She’s leaning against the door, with her arms crossed and her eyes fixated on Josie laying on the infirmary bed.

Josie is fast asleep, stripped from her extravagant evening dress to a cotton-white nightgown, and all eyes in the room glued to her. 

Caroline’s eyes haven’t left Josie’s since Alaric carried her into the school, the headmistress blue eyes glistening with unshed tears. Lizzie is nudged close to her mom’s side, eyes just as glassy, and Hope notices how she’s fidgeting with her necklace. On the other side of Josie is Alaric and MG, both in a similar state of confusing distress as the two blondes in the room. MG has bandages covering scars from their battle, his stature stiff and alert as he is deep in thought. Alaric, pale and visibly shaking, is spooked as if he’s looking down at a ghost.

“Who is she? _What_ is she?” Lizzie’s quivering voice shatters the silence of the room. 

“She said her name was Josette,” Alaric shudders the name of his late wife. “Josie.” All of them inhale sharply, a chilling effect that passes through them at the sound of her name spoken. It was as if her name was a drip in calm waters, rippling through the stillness in the room.

Suddenly, the sheets rustle as Josie stirs awake. Hope pushes off the door, back ramrod straight as her body tenses with anticipation. 

Everyone is holding their breaths as Josie blearily looks around the room and sits up carefully. 

“W-where am I?” Josie stutters. Her brown eyes frantically shifting between all the eyes staring at her. “Who are all of you?” 

Caroline coos motherly at Josie, “You’re safe, sweetie. Don’t be afraid, we won’t hurt you.” The headmistress reaches out to hold Josie’s hand, but Josie recoils at the action. Caroline flinches at the sharp rejection, visibly hurt, and folds her hands in her laps. 

“You’re at the Salvatore Boarding School for the Young and Gifted,” Alaric whispers. “A school for the supernatural—for kids like you,” he adds. 

“Supernatural? I don’t know what you’re talking about or who any of you are.” Josie trembles with fear. Tears well up in brown eyes and Hope is heart-stricken at the sight.

But then Josie shifts her gaze and magnetically finds Hope—staring at Hope with such an intensity that Hope thinks her entire body will burst into flames. Instead, the walls in the room disappear and so does everyone inside it besides Hope and Josie. As if they were on stage, the light shines down on the two of them and Hope can hear the reverent gasp escape Josie’s lips.

“Who are _you?_ ” Josie asks. A single tear finally falls from glistening brown eyes. Hope resists the urge to rush forward and catch it.

“My name is Hope,” she answers, her heart thundering in her ears. 

“Hope,” Josie whispers her name and Hope melts at the melodic way it rolls off Josie’s tongue. “You are Hope,” Josie repeats her name again, flecks of gold twinkling in her eyes. Hope wonders if Gods have grand power in their gazes alone. Because in this moment, Hope feels foolishly naked and breathless under this young goddess’s unwavering gaze on her. Maybe this is one of Josie’s distinguishable godly traits: incapacitate mortals with her striking brown eyes.

This electrifying moment between them, however, shatters as Lizzie’s dramatic wave between Hope and Josie’s intense gaze ushers them back to the crowd in the room.

“And I am Lizzie,” the blonde interjects with annoyance. “This is my Mom, Caroline, and that is my Dad, Alaric. Next to him is Milton Greasley, or MG.” MG smiles and shyly waves at a curious Josie. “Now can you tell us who you are and what you are?” Lizzie probes. 

Josie blinks slowly, as if waking up all over again, and shakes up at Lizzie’s intimidating gaze. She wraps her arms around herself protectively, retreating from Lizzie’s intensity. 

“Lizzie,” Caroline scolds her daughter. “Sweetie, we promise we only want to help. Can you tell us what you remember?” 

“I… I know my name is Josie.” Josie inhales sharply and winces in pain as she clutches her head. “I—I remember nothing else.” She shakes her head. “The last thing I remember is… is a field of white roses.”

Hope thinks of the sinkhole where she originally found Josie—of all the white roses surrounding that magical place that was protecting the young goddess. She wonders: Does Josie remember waking up there?

But then Josie shakes her head again. “Then the next is me waking up here,” she stammers. “Everything else is blank.”

“You literally saved us an hour ago. How can you not remember?” Lizzie tilts her head, baffled by the situation.

“I did?” Josie clamps her eyes shut in pain, wringing her hand in her hair. Hope eyes the dangling white rose around her neck, its diamond core reflecting the moonlight peaking out from the window. Josie pulls her legs close to her chest, clamming up in fear. “I don’t remember, I’m sorry. I don’t remember.” she croaks out.

“That’s all right,” Alaric soothes and stands up. “Your mind and body must be exhausted.” 

“We can talk more in the morning,” Caroline adds. “We’ll leave you to rest.” The blonde vampire smiles lovingly at Josie. “You are safe here at the Salvatore school—you are among friends.” Caroline tries to relieve the panicked expression on Josie, but is only met with silence.

The headmistress shoos everyone out of the room, but Hope lingers for a moment longer. She watches as Josie curls into herself, eyes downcast and shoulders tense.

“Josie,” Hope starts softly. She notices Josie tense before lifting her brown eyes to study Hope.

What does Hope want to say? She has a million questions still running through her mind since she found Josie in the sinkhole—a million questions she’s sure Josie can’t answer right now. Yet, Hope finds herself rooted to the spot, staring at Josie as if the answers were in her eyes. Somehow, Hope thinks they are. Josie raises her brow, waiting for Hope to speak.

There is something screaming in the back of Hope’s mind, screaming at her to say something important. But Hope’s mind is a cluster of mysteries at the moment, and she can’t articulate what exactly her heavy heart wants her to convey.

“I—Goodnight, Josie.”

Hope swivels around to exit the infirmary, thinking how dumb she must have looked. Her heart is still heavy with emotion as she walks away. But as she closes the doors behind her, she hears Josie’s sweet voice murmur, “Goodnight, Hope.” And her heart seems to lighten, just a fraction.

Alaric is waving the students away from the infirmary and the group that were the only witnesses to Josie’s transformation earlier remains huddled in the lounge. 

“We need to keep what we saw between us,” Caroline says. “Our top priority is to protect, Josie. If the wrong person gets wind of the level of power we saw tonight, who knows what beast will come after her.” Hope nods, concurring more and more with each statement her headmistress makes.

“Are we safe with her _inside_ our school?” Alaric questions, his calm demeanor spooked. “We don’t know what kind of supernatural she is, and neither does she.” He paces back and forth. “For all we know, she could have been lying.” Alaric scratches his scruffy beard in contemplation. “Caroline, maybe we should contact Matt and have him—”

“She’s not dangerous,” Hope and Lizzie say at the same time. They both stare at each other, weirded out by their simultaneous response and rare agreement. 

Alaric looks at the two of them curiously. “How are you sure?” He crosses his arms. “The same night we are being chased by an ancient beast only heard of in myth, she magically manifests herself in our lives. What if she’s the one who summoned it?”

“She _saved_ us, remember?” Hope growls at her headmaster. “If it weren’t for Josie, we’d be dead.”

Lizzie looks down at her pendant. “I may not know what she is, but my intuition is telling me she’s not dangerous.” The siphoner shrugs. “If her intention was to harm us, she would have done so by now.”

“She seemed frighten by us,” MG chimes in. “And when she was talking to us, she wasn’t lying. I would have known if she was by the sound of her heartbeats,” he explains. 

Caroline nods. “MG’s right, Ric. She was telling us the truth.” 

Hope steps in. “The best thing we can do for her now is to keep her safe here and acclimate her to the school.” Josie is safer here, here with Hope. She looks at Alaric with a challenge and a fire in her voice. “She’s _supernatural,_ like the rest of us. That’s why you built this school. To protect young supernatural kids in a world that doesn’t understand us, remember?” 

Alaric nods in acquiescence. “Yes, of course,” he says. “But we will still need to figure out what she is and where she’s from. Someone out there might be looking for her, someone good or someone bad. She could have a family that is missing her.” Alaric and Caroline seem pale at the statement. He clears his throat and continues. “Even though I agree that she’s not a threat right now, our top priority is also to keep everyone in this school safe, and that means finding information on her to ensure that safety.”

“We’ll research discreetly _—_ only with people we trust.” Caroline adds. “But, Hope is right. She belongs here with us where we can keep her safe. Whatever information we find, she’s still one of us.” Hope nods, relieved at the decision to keep Josie at the school. “For now, we should all get some rest tonight. It’s been a long day.” Caroline looks at Hope, Lizzie, and MG. “Keep an eye on Josie and not a word of what we saw tonight is discussed outside of this group, understood?” 

They all part ways, in silent agreement to keep the details of Josie’s powers to themselves until they can find out more about the girl. While Hope is in shared secrecy with the group, she remains silent with her knowledge from Eros and the eerie prophecy. With Josie being under a spell to protect her soul, Hope fears that even a whisper of the goddess being awake will spread and whatever is hunting her will come swiftly—putting them all in danger. Hope needs to stew on the little information she has before she can involve more people into the plan and unravel the prophecy Eros relayed for her. 

* * *

The next morning, Hope is at the docks training with Alaric. His usual drunken and sluggish movements now gone and as he attacks with more precision than before. Her headmaster has even shaven his ragged beard. While the stench of alcohol still lingers, it is not as distractingly pungent as before. 

Hope and Alaric are clashing their bo staffs, both deflecting one another with forceful strength. A sheen of sweat coats Hope’s forehead as she lunges at Alaric, aiming for his exposed torso. But Alaric deftly parries her attack.

“Find any information on the Erymanthian Boar and exactly why a monster said to be a myth was terrorizing the woods,” Hope huffs and ducks his forceful swing. 

Hope sweeps her staff at his legs, but Alaric jumps over it. “Haven’t had time to research into it,” he pants and clashes her staff harshly, its material nearly splintering on impact. “Too preoccupied on Josie.”

She falters in her position at the mention of Josie, and Alaric jabs his staff at her core with enough force that she falls to the ground. Alaric holds her hand out to her, and begrudgingly she accepts it. 

“Did you find anything on her?” Hope twirls her bo staff and circles around Alaric. Her heart pounding for more information on the elusive young goddess.

“Not yet,” Alaric pants. Hope loses focus as her mind wanders to Josie. How did she sleep? Is she awake? Has she eaten breakfast?

Distracted, Alaric clips her side as he lunges at her and she is too slow when side-stepping his attack.

She winces slightly at the unexpected hit, but recovers as she lifts her staff and brings it down on Alaric.

But he lifts his staff up in time, blocking Hope’s strike and pushing her back.

Moving quick, Hope rotates her body to deflect his strike and then strikes down with enough force to split Alaric’s staff in two. She points the tip of her staff at his throat, smiling victoriously. Alaric tosses the split wood on the dock and holds his hands up in surrender.

Hope drops her staff on the dock and moves to grab her battle of water, which Alaric does the same.

“Has Caroline found anything?” Hope inquires.

He takes a hearty gulp from his water and then shakes his head. “Caroline is doing a work around with paperworks to integrate Josie into the school system without drawing red flags from the town,” Alaric reveals. “With any luck, Josie will probably start today if she’s up to it.”

“Don’t you think it’s too soon?” Hope chugs down her water. 

“Better sooner than later before other students start to question. There are already wild rumors going around after the explosion last night—Caroline and Sheriff Donovan are coordinating with each other with a cover-up story for the town.”

“And what’s that? Teenage delinquents playing with illegal fireworks go awry?” Hope jokes. But when Alaric doesn’t laugh, she gives him a deadpan look. “You’re kidding. You think the people in Mystic Falls will buy that?” 

“You’d be surprised what absurd information people will accept before even considering something out of the norm.” Hope chuckles because he’s right. The supernatural has been in Mystic Falls for centuries and not an inkling of suspicion. 

“Let’s call it a day with training,” Alaric says. “I don’t have supernatural healing and my muscles are still sore from yesterday.” He twists his torso and his bones crack loudly. “Dorian is also waiting on me. We’re going back to the site to see if we can pick up any clues on Josie and the monster,” Alaric adds.

“Can I come?” Hope jumps at the idea. Maybe Hope can find clues that will help her understand the prophecy and what is after Josie.

“You have classes all day," he reminds her. “I think right now, I need you to help keep an eye on Josie,” Hope is about to defend Josie again when Alaric holds his hands up. “Not because she’s dangerous, but because she could use a friend. Just imagine how lonely and scared she feels right now.” 

Hope nods, heart already skipping at the prospect of spending more time with the young goddess. “I can do that.” 

Alaric smiles at Hope proudly. He picks up their bo staffs and starts packing up their training equipment. “Also, if you can, keep Lizzie from scaring Josie away. She means well, but Lizzie’s tenacity can be intimidating, especially with the fragile state Josie is in.” 

“I’ll try, but no promises,” Hope quips as she walks back towards the school.

After her shower, Hope makes her way down to grab a quick bite to eat at the dining hall before it closes and her class starts. But as she heads to the dining area, her body instinctively turns the opposite direction and heads to the infirmary. Hope’s curious and insatiable desire to see Josie wins over her grumbling stomach. 

When she approaches the wing, Hope notices the door to Josie’s room slightly ajar. Quieting her steps, Hope leans in to hear Caroline’s soothing and gentle voice. 

“Take all the time you need,” Caroline insists. The headmistress pauses and takes a deep breath. “You are one of us here, and here at Salvatore we’re a family,” Caroline’s voice shakes ever so slightly. “I know it’s all new and scary right now but, if you give us the chance, we’d love to have you a part of it.” 

Hope steps aside when Caroline exits the room and closes the door shut softly, resting her head against it. When she moves away, she alarms at Hope’s unexpected presence. 

Caroline crosses her arms. “You should be heading off to class now, Hope.” She pushes Hope away from Josie’s room and walks her down the hall and away from the infirmary wing—away from Josie. 

“I just wanted to check on her,” Hope says. “Alaric was telling me how you’re admitting the paperworks for her to be part of the school and working with Sheriff Donovan?” 

Caroline nods. “We checked missing person’s this morning, but nothing came up. For now, though, I’ve input her name in the system as Josette Forbes—a distant relative of mine that is now attending Salvatore to avoid any suspicions.” 

Hope thinks the surname given to Josie comes off odd-sounding, but shrugs it off. “Will she be starting today?” 

The blonde stops and sighs, looking down the hall where Josie’s room is. “Probably not. She is reluctant to leave the room. Terrified, actually.” 

“With no memories and waking up in a strange new place, I would be terrified too.”

Caroline looks at Hope wearily and nods. “It’ll take time. We’ll all need to put in the extra effort to make her feel safe around us.” The warning bell to class rings through the school and Caroline gives Hope a reprimanding look. “But right now, you need to get to class, young lady.” 

Hope rolls her eyes as Caroline shoves her towards class, nagging Hope about the importance of punctuality. Despite the annoying mothering from her headmistress, Hope secretly smiles at Caroline’s reinvigorated demeanor—a stark contrast to her aloof and frazzled persona at the beginning of the term. 

* * *

Hope spends all her classes distracted, distracted by Josie. Her notes are all sketches of Josie—of alluring brown eyes and the rose pendant that hangs around her neck. Josie haunted her in her dreams before Hope even knew she existed. Now that Hope has had the privilege to bask in her presence and witness her beauty, she finds her mind constantly haunted by her even when she’s awake.

More stressing is how Eros’ prophecy continues to rattle her brain.

“Two souls will reunite, one of light and the other in plight, but both bound to a perilous fight.” Hope recites the first line of the prophecy from memory. Scribbling it down in her notebook, underlining the _two souls_ part of the prophecy.

She’s hiding away in the library, conducting her own personal research while Alaric and Caroline focus their attentions elsewhere. Books upon books are open, all of varying subjects: mythology, ancient Gods and Goddesses, memory spells, curses and hexes, etc.

Hope flips through an encyclopedia of mythical beings and monsters, idly passing by many creatures with razor-sharp teeth or multiple heads—all gruesome beasts that Hope does not wish to battle any time soon. 

She stops on a page with a picture of the Erymanthian Boar, its beady red eyes and razor tusks glaring at her. Hope can still feel the sting on her sides, a long scar that is fading slower than usual. She flips through the encyclopedia some more and then stops at a peculiar image that makes her body go cold. Her fingers stop by a demonic feminine figure with bat-like wings and obsidian eyes. The demon’s sleek black hair stretches past her knees and pools at the bottom of her feet. She has talons that grip on to a dagger, pointing it down to the bottom of the page. On the dagger is an inscription in Greek—a name that Hope can’t decipher.

Hope turns the page for information, but finds that there is none. When she flips back, Hope’s jaws drops as the image is no longer there. Instead, Eros is painted on the page—a false image of the goddess as it depicts her as a pubescent boy with curly blonde hair. A far cry from the strikingly beautiful black goddess that she met in the sinkhole.

Hope sifts through the pages, stumped that the demonic image is no longer present. She wonders if—then, a gust of wind rattles the pages and the table shakes. Hope grips her heart, startled as MG appears in front of her. 

“Jesus, MG,” Hope wheezes. 

“Sorry, Hope. Didn’t mean to startle you,” he smiles apologetically. He then raises a brow at the sketches in Hope’s notebook on full display.

She closes it shut, her cheeks burning. “Just random doodles,” Hope says. MG smirks knowingly, and Hope does her best to give him a steely, nonchalant expression. “Was there something you wanted?”

MG grins and pulls out a pile of comic books and spreads them all over the table. “Look at this,” he began.

“What… am I looking at?” Hope stares at the array of colorful comics. 

“After what we saw last night, I did my own research.” MG leans forward, looking around discreetly, and whispers, “I think Josie is an Eternal.” 

Hope really wishes she could speak MG. 

“What are you talking about? What the hell is an Eternal?” 

MG opens one comic, pointing at the colorful and animated drawings on the panels. “The Eternals were created by the Celestials, gifted with godlike powers to defend Earth and all its inhabitants.” Hope gives him a deadpan look, but MG presses on. “Hope, Josie was glowing like a _God—_ her eyes were a luminescent yellow and she possessed inhumanly powers that no supernatural we know of has shown.” MG points to a picture of godlike comic characters and their incandescent glow. “She’s an Eternal that has lived on Earth since the dawn of man and sworn to defend us from deviant creatures like that nasty boar we fought.” MG bounces in his seat like a child. 

While Hope thinks MG is completely off the mark, he’s also not wrong about his assessment on what Josie is. Josie is a _goddess_ and the Gods in mythology do exist. But this fictional world MG is spewing has no grounds to their reality.

Curious, Hope entertains MG’s theory for a moment. “Let’s say Josie is an ‘Eternal,’ then why are her memories gone?” Hope questions. “And where has she been this whole time?” 

He pushes forward the anthology of the _Eternals_ by Neil Gaiman with glee. “In the modern age, the Eternals lost their memories and powers because of a magic induced amnesia by another being. For all we know, Josie could have been living a different life this entire time, or even in hyper-sleep for centuries in an underground lair.”

Hope leans forward, a little more intrigued. She thinks of finding Josie asleep in the sinkhole and the protection spell Eros told Hope Josie was under. 

“Why did she wake up now, then?” _How did she wake up?_

MG thinks for a moment. “Maybe Earth needs defending—maybe a creature with godlike powers is out for vengeance, and only an Eternal like Josie can fight them. The Eternals swore to protect Earth from the Horde, alien-species that are Gods of Destruction.”

_A mighty foe puppeteers the game, a ravenous appetite that cannot be tamed._

“What does the Horde do?”

“They consume infant worlds and Celestial energies like Earth and the Eternals. Maybe something of that grandeur has arrived and Josie woke up from hyper-sleep to save us?” MG theorizes.

“Okay, but then—” Hope waves her hands in the air and shakes her head. “Wait, no. I’m not buying into this—this is a comic book we’re talking about, MG.” Hope groans, nearly falling for MG’s explanation. Josie is a goddess, yes, but she is not some humanoid goddess that is part of an avenger-like species that MG is trying to convince her of.

Hope gathers her things and exits the library, MG falling in step beside her. “Come on, Hope, you have to admit it’s an interesting theory. Before I turned into a vampire, I thought all of this was just from comic books. Now we have an Eternal among us,” MG swoons.

“She’s not an Eternal,” Hope tells him. “We shouldn’t even be talking about this right now.” They’re at the foot of the stairs, students still lingering in the lounge this late in the evening.

“Right, sorry.” He pouts.

“It’s an interesting theory,” Hope supplements. “Just needs more logical research.” Research that Hope will prefer to do on her own. With MG’s scars faintly visible, Hope does not want to involve him if another foe like the Erymanthian Boar attacks them again. The less everyone knows, the better.

She waves him goodnight and ascends up the stairs and into her room.

Hope falls on her bed, desperate to let Morpheus lull her to a peaceful slumber.

* * *

_Hope was walking in the woods, the sun burning high in the sky on summer solstice. As she went further, passing by the giggling nymphs and satyrs, she stumbled upon two lovers in a clearing._

_A young man and a fair maiden in a loving embrace, holding on to each other as if it were their last. Peering behind a tree, Hope awes at the lustrous beauty of the two lovers. The man was so lovely that Helios himself could not look away. His dark red curls were aflame beneath the radiant sun and his eyes bluer than ocean itself. The young maiden had dark brown hair, twisted into an intricate braid, and a wreath of roses crowned her. Her brown eyes were shimmering at her lover, a log crackling with embers during cold winter nights._

_Then a hollow laugh echoes through the woods. A thick black fog seeps in and floats precariously up to Hope’s waist. The skies are a dark gray; the sun hidden by angry clouds as the Gods cry upon Earth. Screeching from above, a demonic creature dives at the lovers and plucks the young maiden away and into the clouds. The maiden’s lover screams in anguish, magic booming from his hands as he tries to strike the winged-beast down._

_Hope runs to help, but she is too late as a gargantuan man with blood-red eyes materializes in front of the red-haired mage and plunges a sword into his chest—straight through his heart. Hope hears the young maiden cry from the heavens. She turns to look at the monstrous man, his silver mane pulled back in a ponytail, and in his hands is the heart of the young mage._

_The murderer’s cruel eyes land on Hope, mouth frothing at her. He holds the young man’s heart in the air and the demonic creature comes swooping down, ferociously devouring it. Then the man points his finger at Hope: his next target._

_The creature cranes her head at Hope, her obsidian eyes peering at her soul, baring her knife-like teeth. Fear gripping her, Hope turns and runs from the sadistic creatures._

_But Hope doesn’t make it far as talons grab on to her neck and fling her to the ground. The demonic woman stands above her, and wiggles her talons at Hope._

_“What is owed to me will be mine,” she screeches. Her talons then strike down and plunges into Hope—_

Hope springs from her nightmare and is gasping violently as she wakes. She’s submerged in the darkness of her room, the only source of light coming from the moon peaking through her window. Her body is covered in sweat and her heart is hammering against her chest. Obsidian eyes and pointed talons has Hope in a cold sweat. She runs her hand over her body, looking for any entry wounds, and finds nothing.

Head in her hands, Hope breathes in and out. “What the hell was that?” she curses. With all the odd dreams that have plagued her, this one had to be the strangest. It had to be the most terrifying of them all. Hope gets out of bed, her body tightly wound and her bones on fire, and proceeds to the bathroom.

Splashing cold water on her face, Hope stares at herself in the mirror. Her eyes are gold, the wolf in her on the edge as she is. The nightmare has unsettled them, and Hope knows that sleep won’t come easily now.

Throwing on her sweater, Hope exits her room. A run would do her good, and in her wolf form even better. Normally, she’d let Alaric or Caroline know that she’s shifting, but with how late it is she figures it will be fine. 

Hope nearly makes it out the doors to the school when her ears pick up the soft murmurs of a soft voice from the infirmary. Knowing who rests there, her wolf immediately calms. The urge to shift dissipates as intrigue takes over instead. Hope mindlessly follows the sweet sound. 

As she gets closer, Hope hears Josie quietly hissing at something—or someone? Hope slowly opens the door and peers her head in to look for herself. When her eyes land on Josie, Hope is surprised to see the expansive window in the room wide open and Josie with one leg out of it. 

She pushes the door open and the sound of it hitting the wall shocks the goddess to the point where she falls out of the window. At the yelp, Hope runs over quickly and leans out to see if Josie is all right. Her worries disappear at the amusing sight of Josie struggling to get out of the thick bush she has fallen onto. She has to refrain herself from laughing at how ridiculous the goddess looks like with leaves in her hair and her limbs wobbling as she tries to get up. 

“How’s it going down there?” Hope leans against the windowsill and stares at Josie in amusement. Josie blows a lock of hair from her face and glares at Hope. “If you wanted to escape, might I suggest using the front doors.” 

“I wasn’t trying to escape,” Josie remarks as she stands up, now face to face with Hope. Hope tries to remain her composure despite her racing heart at the way Josie shines under the moonlight. 

“From where I was standing, it looked like you were jumping out the window. Hence, escaping.” Hope retorts. 

Josie shakes the leaves out of her brown locks with her hand and pouts at Hope. “There was this glowing thing outside the window and I—” The young goddess huffs tiredly, “Forget it.” Before Hope can inquire further, Josie is leaning in close and Hope straightens at the proximity. 

“What are you doing?” Hope rushes out, frozen. 

Josie raises her eyebrow at Hope. “Trying to get back in?” Hope nods dumbly, stupefied by their closeness and entranced by the delicate features of Josie. From doe-like-eyes to her full pouty lips, Hope fingers twitch for a pencil and paper to sketch the beauty before her—to bring the fine point of her granite pencil to paper and sketch every delicate and intricate detail her mind is cataloging. 

“Are you going to move?” Hope notices Josie staring at her curiously, the corner of her lips tilting upwards in catching Hope’s blatant staring. 

Hope flushes in embarrassment and moves out of the way so Josie can climb back in. 

Josie sits on the edge of the bed and stares at Hope warily. “Why are you up so late? Checking up on the weird girl with amnesia?” Hope raises her eyebrow at that, but Josie simply shrugs. 

“I couldn’t sleep,” Hope answers slowly. “I was going to shift when I heard you awake and decided to see if you were okay.” 

The goddess straightens and tilts her head at Hope. “Shift?” 

Hope clears her throat. “Uh, shift into my wolf form,” she says awkwardly. 

“You’re a werewolf…?” Josie asks skeptically. 

“Part werewolf,” Hope adds. By Josie’s silence, Hope continues to provide further explanation. “I’m also part witch and when I die I will also become part vampire.” Josie eyes are like an owl, wide and disbelieving. She opens and closes her mouth like a fish, completely out of her element with Hope’s statement. Hope urges on with her word-vomit. “I’m, uh, what they call a tribrid—the first of the kind,” Hope trails off, not partially keen in disclosing this information to a stranger. Yet, somehow Josie makes it easy for Hope to reveal it all without fear. 

Josie scrunches her face at Hope. “So this school is really for the supernatural? Vampires, werewolves, witches?”

“That and more,” Hope says. With her recent encounters with the Goddess of Love and the young goddess before her, Hope realizes just how little she even knows of the supernatural creatures that exist. 

“I don’t remember anything, but I always thought all supernaturals were a myth.” _I thought Gods only existed in myth, yet here you are_. “How do I know you’re not lying to me?” Josie questions, her voice heavy with denial. 

“I promise you, we aren’t lying to you nor are we your enemies,” she tries to convey with all her might—desperate to quell Josie’s fear. “The supernatural exists, _we_ exist,” Hope stresses, motioning between her and Josie. 

Josie is in quiet thought, gnawing at her lips. She then swings her legs off the bed and steps in front of Hope, a fire burning in those bright brown eyes. “Prove it to me,” Josie demands. 

“What do you mean?” Hope heart beats dramatically as Josie steps closer, an obvious challenge with her sudden burst of confidence. 

“Show me a supernatural ability. Prove to me that this isn’t some elaborate and cruel prank on the girl with retrograde amnesia.” Josie crosses her arms, a glint of defiance in her eyes. 

“Why would we—do you really not believe us?” Hope notes the way Josie looks out the window and holds herself protectively. 

“I don’t know _what_ to believe in right now,” Josie's voice breaks. “The only thing I can trust right now are my own two eyes and my gut.” 

Realizing no words can quell Josie’s skepticism, Hope shows her a minor spell. _“Incendia,_ ” she chants, and a ball of flame rests in her palm. 

Something flickers in Josie’s eyes—recognition maybe?—but then she purses her full lips at Hope. “Nice illusion,” she quips and blows the flame out of Hope’s hand. 

“Illusion?” Hope says incredulously and pulls up her sleeves, trying to show Josie that it was no gimmicky street magic. But Josie sits back on the bed, arms crossed and still in denial. Hope’s eyes search the room for something impressive to show Josie—not too much that it will scare the girl, but enough to prove to her the existence of magic and the supernatural. 

Hope slowly sits down, watching Josie tense slightly at the action. Sitting cross-legged in front of Josie, Hope holds out her hand. “Hand me your pillow, please,” Hope requests. Josie stares at her strangely, but complies with Hope’s request. Hope rips open the pillow, the clumped feathers bunched inside now puffing out. 

“I see… defacing personal property. Magical.” Josie mocks. 

Hope shushes Josie and then slowly floats a single feather up in the air. By Josie’s still unimpressed face, Hope lifts more of the white feathers in the air, leaving the pillow to be empty and a featherless flapping piece of fabric hanging between them. Dancing the feathers in the air, Hope mutters softly and snaps her fingers. The floating feathers transform into white butterflies that flitter around Josie. Josie's eyes shimmer with excitement and a small, wondrous gasp escapes her lips. Hope’s wolf is howling with pride at Josie’s fascination, proud to impress the young goddess. 

“Do you believe me now?” Hope smirks, holding out a single butterfly that lands on her finger to Josie.

Gently, Josie joins the tip of her finger to Hope’s as the butterfly crawls to Josie without fear. Hope is taken away by the magical beauty of the young goddess: her smile shining brighter than the moonlight, rich eyes wide with joy, and the luminous glow that she exudes as she marvels at the tiny butterflies surrounding her. Hope wonders if Josie knows that she’s glowing like a star, but Hope doesn’t tell her. She is content in giving Josie this moment of reprieve after all that has occurred. Josie gasps in awe as the butterfly on her finger flutters away and out the window, the rest following. 

“What is your gut telling you now?” Hope inquires softly, hoping that she has eased at least one of Josie’s fears. 

Josie bites her lips. “My gut is telling me,”—Hope notices the rising mirth to her honeyed voice— “that you have yet to impress me.” Hope laughs, genuinely laughs, as Josie tries to attempt a facade of indifference despite her childlike wonder a mere second ago. 

Hope’s entire being is brimming with excitement—a playfulness inside her she thought lost all those years ago. She thinks it will be impossible to sleep now—she’s wide awake and bursting with newfound energy. 

Waving her hand, the room is glowing with the colorful and luminescent Northern Lights. Josie gets off the bed and spins around in fascination, bright colors of light dancing in her eyes. 

As Hope watches Josie’s walls lower, her heart feels as if it has expanded in size and is being filled with a powerful emotion she can’t name—it burns from her core and rushes up to the tip of her tongue. Hope concludes it’s a crush, nothing more. Because how can she feel this magnetic pull and heart-seizing emotion to a girl she has barely known for only a day? There is no logical foundation for it.

Yet, as she listens to Josie’s enthralled squeals, the dark crevices of Hope’s soul is filled with inexplicable warmth. A lifetime of crippling despair and loneliness beginning to mend by this new and bright girl that has entered her life. 

* * *

Something tickles Hope’s nose as she is pulled from her sleep. The lively chorus of the birds chirping and the quiet halls of the school signals Hope to assume that it’s still early in the morning. She blinks the sleep away and notices the first light of dawn slowly creeping up in the dark blue sky. Taking in her surroundings, Hope realizes she’s not in her room and jumps at the mane of brown locks splayed on the sheets beside her. Flashes of the night play through her like a montage: Josie laughing at the animated shadow puppet play Hope conjured, or Josie clapping energetically like a child at the mini fireworks that zaps out of Hope’s fingers. 

After exhausting her energy with the magic show, Hope and Josie spent the night talking in hushed tones, revealing secrets to each other in the dark of the night. Josie admitting her fears about Salvatore, of how the walls seem to be haunted and how loud the voices are in her head. Hope telling Josie about how painful her first transformation was as a wolf and how lonely it felt to be the only tribrid to exist—to be nature’s freakish loophole. Josie telling Hope how scared she is of how empty her minds is and how lonely she felt when she woke up—a gaping hole in her mind and heart. Hope telling Josie about the gaping hole in her heart after losing her parents—a past Hope never talks about, but it comes spilling out in the private moment between her and Josie, anyway.

Before Josie, Hope remained high in a tower, isolated and alone. Landon could never climb those jagged walls that she lives behind, his eyes only peering longingly at the bottom. He gripped at the walls, traverse its towering height, and always failed—never reaching her. But in a single night, Josie has climbed those walls with ease and jumped through the window, jumped straight to her heart. 

Hope’s last memory of the night was of Josie telling her a dream she had of dancing fairies—a dream so vivid that Josie thought it a memory. But Hope heard no more of Josie’s magical dream as she fell asleep to the sound of her soft voice and the soothing scent that encompasses her—comforted by the warmth of the young goddess sleeping next to her. 

Now, half-awake, Hope realizes how close they are together.

Embarrassingly, Hope is keenly aware how flushed she is against the young goddess. Aware of the way her hand presses against a soft belly and covered by Josie’s delicate and smooth hand, fingers interlacing. The way their legs tangle together with the blanket pooled at the bottom. Hope burns hotter as she notices the night gown Josie is wearing bunched up and supple velvet skin on display. As much as Hope wants to continue holding Josie like this, she doesn’t think it’s appropriate to be in such an intimate position when the two just met. Hope drags her arm away and leaves the warmth of the bed. She’s partway to putting her shoes back on when she freezes at Josie whimpering in her sleep. 

“Don’t go,” Josie cries and turns on her back. Hope leans over in concern and realizes that Josie is having a nightmare. “Please, don’t leave me.” Josie eyes scrunched tight and Hope can hear her racing heart. 

Images of her visions and dreams throughout the summer of Josie’s hazy figure calling out to her flash rapidly through Hope. Violent and horrifying images of Josie being suffocated by flowers, pierced by arrows, and dragged to the underworld haunts Hope. Hope trembles at the thought of Josie having those same nightmares or, even worse, experiencing them in another dimension as her body laid in deep slumber in the sinkhole. 

Josie shakes, tears streaming down her face, and Hope's heart breaks at the sight. She lays back down next to Josie and gently wipes the falling tears. “I’m here, Josie. You’re safe.” 

Brown eyes flutter open, drowning in panicked tears. “H-hope,” Josie's voice breaks and brings her hand to hold on to Hope’s. “I—I dreamt that I died. You were there and then you left me and,” she gasps between her sobbing. 

“It’s okay, Josie,” Hope coos. “It was just a nightmare. Whatever it was, it wasn’t real.” Hope squeezes Josie’s hand and scoots closer to Josie, hoping to exude tribrid warmth to stop the violent trembles from the girl. “You’re alive, Josie. This is real and I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere,” Hope swears. She listens as Josie’s racing heart slows and her cries brought down to soft sniffles. 

“I’m sorry,” Josie says. 

“Don’t be.” Hope notes the dark circles under Josie’s eyes and soothingly brushes her thumb against Josie’s soft cheeks. “Get some more sleep, it’s still early.” 

Josie nods and closes her eyes. “You’ll stay?” she asks timidly, voice slow with fatigue. 

“I’ll stay,” Hope promises. A promise she feels transcends deeper than just this delicate moment. 

Josie instantly calms, her whimpers ceasing. Hope feels the tenseness release with the sleeping goddess melting next to her. Listening to the slow and steady beats of Josie’s heart, Hope slips back to sleep in deep contentment. 

Hours later, Hope wakes up to brown eyes gazing at her amazingly. 

“It feels as if I’ve known you forever,” Josie whispers. A bright red colors her cheeks when Josie realizes that Hope has awakened and heard her. 

But sleepily, Hope mumbles, “Me too.” 

They lay next to each other in peaceful silence, both staring at each other with heavy eyes that seem to speak a language that Hope can’t decode. 

They don’t separate until the door opens and Caroline enters the infirmary with bags of clothes for Josie. The headmistress looks between the two in shock, her eyes narrowing at their closeness and an edge of protectiveness tinges her voice when she orders Hope to go to docks where Alaric is waiting for her.

Hope spends the rest of the morning distracted by the memories of the previous night as Alaric knocks her down more than once. Though she’s distracted and had barely enough sleep, Hope thinks she has never slept so well as she did when she laid beside Josie. 

Mornings never held such beauty and excitement to Hope until now. 

* * *

Exiting her first class, Hope brushes past the students to get a head start to her next class but then stops at the sound of her name called out by a familiar gruff voice. She turns to see Landon scuffling towards her.

“Hey, what a class right?” Landon drawls. Hope silently stares him down, not even bothering to give him a response to his awkward attempt at small talk again. He clears his throat and shuffles in place awkwardly. “I just wanted to check if you were all right? I heard that you faced an Erymanthian Boar? MG told me it was huge and practically an unstoppable force. I’ve only read one account of it and that’s from the 12 Labors of Heracles…” Landon rambles on and Hope completely tunes him out as her nose catches on to a sweet and calming scent in the air. 

Peering over Landon’s shoulder, Hope sees Josie with Alaric and Caroline, both headmasters walking beside her with glee. Josie is wearing the Salvatore uniform and Hope thinks it fits perfectly on the young goddess—she can easily imagine Josie attending Salvatore all this time with the way she struts through the halls like she belongs here. 

Alaric and Caroline are both regaling the history of the school to Josie, their arms gesturing widely to the lounge and its structure, when Josie shifts her focus from them to catch Hope’s gaze. Josie shyly ducks her head and tucks her hair behind her ear, she bites her lips at Hope trying not to smile. But Hope catches the smile, the soft lines of her lips inching upwards. Unabashedly, Hope stares and beams at Josie. Hope exhilarates at the faintest blush of pink on pillowy cheeks. 

“… I wonder if it’s Malivore’s doing and the monsters from Greek mythology are now resurfacing. Who else could it be? What do you think, Hope? Hope?” Landon turns around to follow Hope’s gaze and notices Josie. 

“Is that the new girl everyone’s talking about? The one you found in the woods?” Hope dumbly nods in response, her attention still fixated on Josie. She softens further at the sight of a fumbling Josie as Alaric hands her books and Caroline is shoving an endless pile of pamphlets to her. 

“She’s pretty,” Landon says and instantly Hope’s smile drops and her blood runs hot. 

“Stop staring at her,” Hope barks at him, despite being guilty of doing the exact same thing.

Landon furrows his brows at Hope’s unusual defensiveness to a girl they all barely knew. Then Hope sees his lips curl into a small smile, and she really hopes that Landon isn’t getting the wrong idea. 

Hope shakes her head and hears the warning bell ring. “I have to go to my next class,” she rushes out and pushes past her ex. As she speeds down the halls, Hope has to dig her nails into her textbook to keep herself from turning around to see if the tingling sensation down her spine is from brown eyes watching her. Secretly, she hopes it is. 

By the time lunch rolls around, Hope is scouring the area for Josie. Hope deflates when she notices Josie squished at the table with Lizzie, Alyssa, and their minions. Lizzie is talking a mile a minute to Josie, something about tomorrow’s party, while Josie appears to be barely following a single word. Normally, Hope would find the farthest table and eat her lunch alone, but her body compels her to move towards the table of snickering witches and the beautiful goddess that has already taken center in Hope’s heart. 

Alyssa notices her first and scoffs in disgust. “Usually I love lost puppies, but this mutt is far too deplorable to even want. Someone please call animal services because I’m already itching from the fleas,” she screeches out crudely with her nasally voice and all the witches around her laugh, all but Josie. Josie glares at all of them, a heated reprimanding glare—an especially disapproving one at Lizzie. The blonde notices it and quiets in shame. 

Hope ignores Alyssa’s usual rudeness and directly addresses Josie. “Are you okay?” 

Lizzie then snaps at Hope in defense. “She is, why wouldn’t she be safe with me?” Lizzie uncharacteristically clinging onto Josie in a protective stance. 

“I wasn’t implying that she wasn’t safe with you, Lizzie. Plus, I was talking to Josie, not you,” Hope bites out. Josie shifts uncomfortably at the rising tension between Hope and Lizzie, unsure how to navigate the scene. 

Alyssa snickers behind her hand. “Do my eyes deceive me, or does our resident tribrid have a crush on the new girl? I guess it makes sense that the two freaks of the school would want each other—I mean, who else would?”

“Alyssa, shut up,” Hope and Lizzie say at the same time. Everyone goes still at Lizzie snapping at her so-called best friend and Hope can see the irritation grow in Alyssa’s eyes. 

“Excuse me?” Alyssa shrieks. “Are you seriously defending the tribitch and the new girl over me?” 

“I think you’re the real bitch, here.” They all turn to Josie, whose eyes go wide as if realizing she had actually said that out loud. Hope watches as panic fills Josie's eyes and watches as she tries to rectify the situation. “I mean, you’re all independent, powerful, magical girls, right? Here you are tearing each other down when you should uplift each other and work together to dismantle the deeply rooted patriarchal system… right?” Josie arches her eyebrow at the blank stares from Alyssa and the other witches. 

Hope has to bite her lips from grinning too widely, delighted by Josie’s adorable feminist spiel. From the looks of it, Lizzie is equally pleased—staring at Josie with reverence. 

“Lizzie?” Alyssa caws at the blonde, expecting Lizzie to come to her defense. 

Lizzie seems caught in the middle and when nothing comes out in the next few seconds, Alyssa scoffs and stomps away—the rest of the witches following her. 

Lizzie sighs dramatically. “Well, there goes my planning committee.” The blonde rubs her temples in frustration. “There will probably be a hex on me by the time I enter my room tonight,” she groans. 

“Sorry, Lizzie,” Josie says. “I didn’t mean to cause any problems between you and Alyssa—” 

Lizzie holds her hand up and stops Josie’s rambling. “Alyssa was being a bitch and was _way_ out of line.” The blonde crosses her arms and then glares at Hope. “You are not a freak, Josie. Mikaelson, though…” 

Hope rolls her eyes and slides in the table, sitting across from Josie and Lizzie. “Ha, ha.” she sneers at Lizzie, who sticks her tongue out at Hope. When she looks at Josie, Hope nearly stumbles out of her seat at the radiant smile Josie is giving her.

“You’re not a freak, Hope.” Josie claims, smiling at Hope with adoration. “I think you’re fascinating.” Hope blushes at Josie’s compliment and Lizzie groans besides them, sticking her fork in her lunch with distaste.

Hope ignores the blonde. “Did you start classes today? Is that why you’re in uniform?” Hope asks. 

Josie shakes her head. “Not really. Alaric and Caroline are having me follow Lizzie in all her classes to ease me in first.”

“It’s all boring, right?” Lizzie drawls.

“… I thought it was interesting,” Josie admits.

“Trust me, you’ll get the actual experience at tomorrow’s party.” Lizzie then pouts. “If it even happens now that I don’t have a committee to help me set up.” 

Then MG speeds up to them, startling Josie as she jumps in her seat. “Are we breaking status quo now? Like Gryffindors and Slytherins sitting together? Because I’m so on board.” MG slides in next to Hope and beams at Lizzie. 

“We are not breaking status quo… not really,” Lizzie mumbles. The blonde then smiles wickedly. “But, you are now looking at my new planning committee for tomorrow’s party.” 

“What?” Hope and Josie tear their eyes from one another to look at Lizzie. 

“Since Alyssa is being a petty bitch right now, I don’t have anyone but MG to help set up. Not only do I have to decorate the auditorium, but I also have to make sure all the essential goods,”—Lizzie mimes chugging down a beer— “are at the Old Mill for the _real_ party. And because you two started this cold war,” Lizzie points at Hope and Josie, “You are now officially part of the committee and mandated to meet me by the auditorium after classes.” 

“I guess that makes sense,” Josie says, slightly deflating. Hope groans, already knowing that Lizzie won’t let her back out. 

MG practically buzzes with excitement. “Is this the beginning of our Super Squad?” He stands up and beams. “First tackling party decorations and then next battling monsters.” 

“Gods, no,” Lizzie spits out. 

But to their surprise, Josie laughs. “Super Squad… I like that.” They all soften at Josie’s radiance. “First mission: unfurling streamers and blowing up balloons.” Lizzie nods at that and starts listing all the things they need to do before tomorrow night. 

At that moment, Kaleb and Landon walk over to the table in confusion. 

“What’s happening here? This is strange, I like it, but it’s strange.” Kaleb stares at them with intrigue. The vampire slides in next to Josie and holds his hand out to her. “I’m Kaleb, vampire badass around here. You’re the new girl, right?” 

Josie shakes his hand shyly. “Josette, or Josie, Forbes.” 

Landon sits down next to Hope and gives Josie a charming smile. “I’m Landon Kirby, uh, Phoenix.” 

“Phoenix? Like the bird?” Josie tilts her head, confused.

“Exactly like the bird, except without its grace and beauty,” Lizzie snickers.

“Hey, I have wings—that’s graceful.” 

“Then use them and fly away,” Lizzie waves her hand. “Bye, bye, Birdie.” 

Lizzie and Landon bicker like little kids, throwing insult after insult after one another. Kaleb and MG interjecting now and then to keep the two from ripping each other’s throats. 

Hope is rush with warm contentment—a sense of familiarity setting in her bones. In that moment, Hope strangely connects the feeling to one of being home—the bickering, the laughs, and the familial atmosphere. She thought this feeling would never return—that her loneliness would follow her forever.

Her eyes seem to mist, and then someone kicks her legs under the table. Hope looks up to stare at beautiful brown eyes gazing at her. Josie smiles gently at her and wraps her ankle around Hope’s, and Hope feels the warmth spread from that touch up to her cheeks. 

Josie mouths, “You okay?”

Hope nods. 

She is more than okay. 

Hope finally feels like she’s coming _home._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, fluff. Hope you all enjoyed it! Because things next chapter will be picking up! Thank you so much for the comments and for reading! I truly cherish all of you <3 
> 
> Stay safe out there and keep hydrated!


	7. Part II : Falling Like A Falling Star

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am horrible. My intention was not to leave you hanging for this long! To be honest, I was going back and forth with this chapter a lot. 
> 
> I do hope you enjoy it still!
> 
> Thank you for all the lovely comments that keep me going!

It’s been few weeks since that momentous night Hope found Josie, and ever since then Josie has cemented herself at Salvatore. From uprooting the cliques to quickly grasping classes and acing them in little to no time—Hope watched as Josie elevated herself among dissenters. Hope thinks Salvatore has never been graced with such a charming enigma that is Josie. She thinks Salvatore has never been brighter. 

While most are still watchful of Josie, the young goddess has touched the hearts of a select few: 

Enamored by Josie, Caroline and Alaric shower her with attention by accommodating to Josie’s every need. From buying her a new wardrobe to stocking the library with fantasy books from around the world. Alaric strides through the hall drenched in cologne rather than bourbon, his eyes burning for adventure. Just like Alaric, Caroline radiates with strength and newfound determination—the school teeming with new interior design projects and extracurricular activities with the headmistress’ burst of energy.

Hope has watched Josie not only affect Caroline and Alaric, but also her peers. MG, perpetually optimistic, shone more than ever as he bonded with Josie with his love of graphic comics and books—Josie equally invested in the fictional worlds he handed to her (Hope was grateful each time Josie explained MG’s comic jargon). 

Even Landon, Kaleb, and Rafael gravitated to Josie—all three finding solace in her presence and have already formed an instantaneous rapport with the young goddess. But even with the others, Josie has spent most of her time with Lizzie and Hope. Hope has never spent so much time with the blonde siphoner, but she finds that she doesn’t mind Lizzie’s mean jabs as long as Josie’s there. With Josie around, Lizzie seems to soften and becomes more in tune with her empathetic side than Hope has ever known her to have. Hope has watched the thunderous rampages and tirades of Lizzie instantly calmed by Josie’s soothing presence and calm touch—the young goddess breaking through to Lizzie better than Caroline and Alaric ever could. 

All of them, especially Hope, float into Josie’s orbit—Josie is the sun and everyone else are the planets pulled in by her magnetic force. All of them revolving around Josie’s brilliant radiance, drawn to her warmth that burns through the empty, lonely void of space. The young goddess oblivious to the gravitational pull she has on them all. 

She’s blind to how much pull she has on Hope—the young goddess fiddling at her heartstrings like a violinist performing at the Met. And Hope obliges to it, unable to resist the sweet song Josie plays on her heart and soul.

Secretly, maybe foolishly wishing, Hope thinks Josie might feel the same.

Ever since the night in the infirmary, Josie and Hope have been nearly inseparable. They have spent nearly every morning together, sometimes waking up next to each other after watching a movie or meeting each other for breakfast. At Josie’s request, Hope had even given the brunette a tour of the town: drinking milkshakes at the Mystic Grill, gazing at portraits in the local galleries, perusing aisles of musty books in vintage bookstores, and more. 

But those glamourous picturesque moments are also tinged by the looming dangers of monsters and a cryptic curse.

Monster sightings have multiplied since Josie has awoken—Hope has wrestled with foul-smelling ogres, clawed by a horrifyingly grotesque Chimera, and nearly devoured by a sea serpent. Each week there is a new monster for Hope to tackle, and each week Hope has to battle it head on before it reaches its intended prey: Josie. 

Much to Hope’s disapproval, her new ragtag group of friends officially formed the Super Squad. Most of the time it is just MG, Lizzie, and Landon in the library involved in intense research to help combat the new monster of the week. Hope is fine with that, as long as they are far from danger.

The most distressing part of the Super Squad, however, is Josie’s inability to stay with the rest of the group in the library—deliberately throwing herself in dangerous situations. Apparently, Josie is just as stubborn as Hope when it comes to protecting the school and each other.

Josie, with no active powers, has boldly stopped an ogre on its warpath and lured it away from devouring the young kids at Salvatore. She then lassoed the Chimera just before it was about to burn Hope to a crisp, giving Alaric enough time to decapitate the beast. Josie even dove in front of the sea serpent, saving Hope from being swallowed whole.

Hope wants more than anything to keep Josie safe inside the Salvatore walls, but Josie refuses to listen. Though Hope is increasingly frustrated at Josie’s recklessness, she also swells with pride when Josie would smile victoriously at her after every battle. Josie has more courage than all the supernaturals at the school combined, and this is all done in her mortal, powerless state. The young goddess, oblivious to her supernatural identity, already has the courage and will of a god and she doesn’t even know it. 

But as the monsters continue to attack, more vile and stronger than the last, Hope continues to hear Eros’ words ring in her ears: _A mighty foe puppeteers the game, a ravenous appetite that cannot be tamed._

* * *

“Ever since we got attacked by an Erymanthian Boar, more and more creatures from mythology have been emerging.” Alaric is throwing down images of each monster they’ve encountered in front of Hope. “We need to find the source of where they’re coming from and why they’re targeting Salvatore.” 

She’s sitting in Alaric’s office, leaning back in the chair as she stares at the ink-drawn images of Greek monsters. Hope and Alaric have been working together trying to figure out the source of where the creatures are coming from—they’ve ruled out any connections to Malivore when they found the portal still closed.

“Dorian and I received a tip of a mysterious cave in the mountains with sudden disappearances and strange occurrences surrounding the site,” Alaric says. “We think it might be a potential lead to a portal where these monsters are emerging from.” 

Hope perks up in her seat. “When do we go?” 

“You aren’t going,” he says authoritatively. 

“Excuse me? I’ve been on the front-lines ever since that boar ransacked our woods.” Hope needs to excavate that cave with Alaric—finding a portal to where the beasts are coming from is another step closer to solving the mystery.

But Alaric shakes his head resolutely at Hope. “I need you here, Hope.” He crosses his arms. “Dorian and I aren’t sure when we’ll be back and I need you to stay here and keep everyone safe.” 

“Caroline will be here,” Hope points out. 

“And she’ll need your help,” he counters. “Plus, she has a lot on her plate with everything that’s going on this weekend.” 

“What is going on this weekend?” 

Alaric sighs. “Apparently we’re hosting Miss Mystic Falls again this year.” He slumps down in his brown-leathered chair. “The Lockwood Mansion is undergoing renovations after the… fire incident.” Ah, yes, the “fire incident”. The fire caused by the three-headed Chimera that was covered up as an amateur arsonist in town. 

“A bunch of mortals in a school full of supernaturals, what could go wrong?” she jests. 

“A lot,” he says seriously. Alaric rummages through his drawers and pulls out a pile of books and pushes them to Hope. “Which is why I need you to stay here and prepare for whatever monster might attack while I’m gone.” 

“This… is a lot of reading.” Hope stares at the stack sullenly. 

“Split the work between the others if you need to,” he says. Then he pulls out another book, a hard-covered leather-bound book with an image of a fairy on the front. “And can you give this to Josie?” 

Hope grabs it and flips it open. “A collection of fairytales across the world?”

He nods and smiles. “She told me she finished reading nearly all the ones in the library and asked if I had more.” 

Hope smiles. “She’s a quick study, isn’t she?” 

“That she is,” he says proudly. “She’ll probably be a great help with all these, too.” Alaric reminds Hope of the stack of books as he places them in her arms. 

“I don’t know how I feel about involving her with all the monster-hunts and research,” Hope admits quietly. 

Alaric hums in agreement. “It’s not like she’ll listen to us though,” he laughs. 

Hope chuckles. “She’s stubborn. I think she’s spending too much time with Lizzie.” 

He laughs. “Those two are quite formidable when they make up their minds about something.” Alaric looks off to the side, staring at the portrait of his late wife. “Josie is just like her—” and then he stops mid-sentence and shifting strangely. Alaric pours himself a glass of bourbon and takes it down in one go. 

“You okay there?”

“A nasty headache just came on, but I’ll be fine.” Alaric clears his throat and stands up. 

They both walk to the exit, Hope juggling the stacks of books in her arms. “You promise to keep me updated on what you find?” 

He nods. “I’ll let you know as soon as I find out what’s in those caves.” 

Hope nods and then exits the door. 

Juggling the books in her arms, Hope brushes past the jovial students and party decals for the annual pageant and heads to her room. Distantly, she hears Lizzie and Caroline barking orders to the movers. When Hope pushes open her door, she is surprised to see a new set of bed in her single bedroom. More surprising is Josie standing in her room, staring at one of Hope’s paintings in awe. 

“I didn’t know you paint,” Josie whispers, fingers ghosting over Hope’s painting. It was a painting of a forest filled with white roses and fireflies—an interpretation of the sinkhole from all those nights ago. 

“I dabble from time to time,” Hope says as she lays the books on her desk. 

She turns to stare at Hope. “It’s beautiful.” 

Hope blushes at the compliment. “Thanks.” She clears her throat. “Not that I don’t mind you breaking and entering my room, but why are you here? And why is there another bed?” 

“I’m your new roommate as of today.” Josie grins. “The infirmary needed to be open with all the monster attacks, and I needed a bed with sheets that don’t feel like sandpaper.” 

“Alaric and Caroline assigned you to my room?”

The young goddess shuffles with her hands. “I actually requested it, if that’s okay?” 

“More than okay,” Hope says. Josie smiles at her and looks at the pile of books Hope dropped by the desk. 

“Alaric has you in deep research mode?” Josie flips through one of the books on ancient myths and magic. 

Hope nods. “He wants me to brush up on monsters while he follows a lead with Dorian.” She watches as Josie picks up the book with the fairy on it, flipping through the pages. “That one he told me to give to you,” Hope says. 

Josie holds it close to her chest. “I’ll make sure to thank him the next time I see him.” 

“I didn’t know you liked fairy tales,” Hope notes. 

Josie runs her hands on the cover of the book. “I think I enjoyed all great, fantastical tales like these.” 

“Want to help me with them, then? I’ve never been fond of reading.” Hope admits. “Preferred to splash paint around during my down time.” 

“I would love to help. Where should we start?” 

“How about you take this,” Hope throws Josie the heaviest of texts with a coy smile. “And I paint you while you read?” 

Josie laughs. “Nice try,” she throws the heavy book back to Hope and takes one of the smaller ones. 

“Why do you get the small one?” 

“My amnesiac brain needs to take it easy, remember?” Josie smirks. 

“Not fair, playing the amnesia card,” Hope mumbles. 

She and Josie lay on their respective beds. They lay on their stomachs as the sound of crisp pages being flipped fills the comforting silence between them. Hope eyes skim through the pages, not finding anything of particular interest. She turns the page and freezes at the sight of an ancient silk painting of a cherry blossom blooming from a woman. Immediately, images of Josie laying on the ground with roses spilling from her mouth flash through her mind—nightmares of Josie dying the same way. 

Hope reads: _The disease of unrequited love: Hanahaki Disease_.

Goosebumps scatter her skin as she reads the brief excerpt of the disease. Why has Hope never heard of this magical disease before? When she flips the page, Hope finds that the trail to this unknown and rare disease ends there. Hope’s hands are trembling with the knowledge of such a vicious disease.

_Is this the curse Eros spoke of?_

If Josie doesn’t reunite with the other soul in the prophecy, will this be her fate? 

Hope looks at the young goddess to her side, soaking in the way the late afternoon sun is peaking through the window and shining down on Josie.

A disease of unrequited love? This can’t be the curse Eros spoke of. Because how can anyone not fall in love with her? What a fool they must be. 

“You know, you’ll never finish a book if you just stare at me the entire time,” Josie teases. 

“Maybe I find you more interesting than the book,” she quips immediately despite the fire on her cheeks from being caught. 

“Shut up.” Josie throws a pillow at Hope. Before the pillow hits her, Hope waves her hand and deflects it back to Josie. Instantly, the pillow smacks the young goddess right in the face. 

Hope laughs loudly at the animated way Josie falls backward, and a sudden playful energy fills the air as Josie gets up to retaliate. Josie is whacking her with a pillow and they’re both giggling like children—Hope’s her heart filled with childish glee. 

“Say. Sorry!” Josie yells as she continues to assault Hope with the pillow, its feathers puffing out in the air. Hope wraps her arms around Josie’s waist and pulls her down to the mattress, trapping the brunette beneath her with only the pillow as a barrier between them.

Josie’s excited squeals come to a calm and Hope stares down at the young goddess below her, Josie oblivious to how she’s glowing like a falling star beneath Hope. Hope’s hand picks a fallen feather from Josie’s hair, her knuckles brushing against soft flushed cheeks. 

And to Hope’s surprise, Josie bites her lips and leans forward and—

Hope is sucker-punched by the pillow and flails backward and off the bed. Josie’s laugh booms throughout the room, and Hope sits up to glare at the mischievous goddess. 

“That was rude,” Hope says as she sits back down next to Josie, pushing her down with the offending pillow. 

Josie is on her back, hugging the pillow close to her chest, smiling up at Hope radiantly and giggling like a child. 

Looking down at Josie like this, the young goddess softly laughing and content beneath Hope, a sudden vision flashes through her mind: 

_“Josie, please help me,” Hope whines to her best friend, her best friend who is still laughing at her unfortunate demise. “They won’t come off.”_

_Hope is staring down at a giggling Josie, Josie who is red from laughter and holding her hand out to Hope. Soft hands brush against her ears, and brown eyes peer up at her with curiosity and adoration._

_As Josie continues to caress her face, inspecting her pointed-ears, Hope is soaking in every beautiful detail of the girl below her, trying to figure out if it’s possible to mix such a beautiful shade of brown and replicate it on a canvas._

And then Hope returns to reality at a hurried knock on the door: 

“Josie! Hope! Open up!” Lizzie’s screeching voice causing Josie to jolt up. The young goddess pushes Hope to the side gently, cheeks flushed as she goes to open the door. 

Hope remains frozen on the bed, reeling from what just passed through her mind. What kind of vision was that? 

Then Lizzie is barraging in the room and dropping a stack of binders on the bed, tearing Hope’s attention from her thoughts to the loud blonde in the room. 

“Are you ready for the most important event of your life, Josie?” Lizzie’s eyes are wild with fire. 

“What are you talking about, Lizzie?” Josie asks hesitantly. 

Hope picks at one binder, and like a war flashback, she knows what they hold. “Run, Josie. Run.” 

Lizzie scoffs and swipes the binder from Hope’s hand. “Don’t be dramatic, Hope.” The blonde hands the binder to Josie and smiles. “You are going to be this year’s Miss Mystic Falls.” 

“Miss Mystic what?” 

“It’s the most prestigious and memorable contest—”

“It’s a beauty pageant,” Hope interjects with a deadpan look at Josie. But Lizzie ignores her and continues.

“—held here in Mystic Falls and you’re going compete,” Lizzie finishes with enthusiasm. 

Josie looks queasy at the thought and shakes her head. “I really don’t think I’m the right fit for this.” 

“Nonsense, you’re the perfect candidate.” Lizzie lists off the reasons: “You’re smart, beautiful, and endorsed by two of the most notable Miss Mystic Fall winners: my Mom and Hope.” 

Josie shifts her eyes to stare at Hope with laughter. “You were Miss Mystic Falls?” 

“Lizzie didn’t really give me much of a choice,” she groans. 

“My blood, sweat, and tears went into getting you that title, be proud.” Lizzie snaps. “Josie, with my expertise and Hope’s endorsement, the judges will surely pick you.” 

“You know, Lizzie, I don’t think I want to be Miss Mystic Falls—it all seems a bit antiquated to me.” 

Hope laughs at the offended look on Lizzie’s face. “It’s _tradition,”_ Lizzie scoffs. “And I need you to compete, Josie. Alyssa has been grinding on my nerves lately and I need you to crush her.” 

Josie remains silent, arms crossed and resolved in her position. But then Lizzie pouts and flutters her eyelashes. “Please, Jo? It would mean a lot to me if you compete.” Hope rolls her eyes at the pet-name, but she already knows that Lizzie just convinced sweet Josie. 

“Fine.” Josie throws her arms up. 

Lizzie beams. “Great, because I already entered your name.” 

“Thanks,” Josie drawls impassively. 

“Of course,” Lizzie says airily. “Now, let’s go. We have much to discuss—starting off with dresses.” Lizzie pulls Josie away and then stops for a moment to glare at Hope. “Also, there’s a party tonight at the Old Mill. It starts around eight. Meet us there, Mikaelson.”

“What makes you think I’ll attend?” Hope narrows her eyes at the blonde.

“Because Josie will be there,” Lizzie says smartly and then exits the room with Josie in tow.

Hope flops back down on her bed, arms crossed in defiance and glaring at the ceiling. 

She’s perfectly fine spending the night alone in her room. Hope had her fill of parties already by being kind and attending the first one of the school year with Josie. It was horrible with all the loud music and drunk kids—albeit far more enjoyable with Josie glued to her side by the bonfire.

She supposes that if Josie is there, it’ll be fine…

But no. Tonight she won’t attend. Hope has a lot of work to do regarding monster-research, Eros prophecy, and even school work.

Yes, she’ll skip out on the party. Hope will see Josie tonight when she returns to the room, anyhow. 

Hope opens her book to a random page, and as she tries to read the words all she hears is Lizzie’s remark: _Because Josie will be there._

* * *

Hope despises parties. 

She hates the way the heavy scent of alcohol mixes with the repulsive odor of hormonal teenagers. Hope hates the way the natural scent of the woods, of the burning bonfire and tree barks, is overpowered by the thick aroma of teenage hedonism. Barring the coolers filled with blood bags and the witches showing off their magic skills, parties at the Salvatore Boarding School are no different from mortal ones.

To Hope they’re all essentially the same: alpha males still drunkenly talk with their libidos and horrible decisions regarding drug, sex, and alcohol still happen. Each time Hope attended these parties, she counted the seconds until it was over. There wasn’t a single moment where she genuinely enjoyed them.

But as she shoves past the wasted, gigging witches, Hope finds the silver lining in it all and the only reason she came. 

By the bonfire in the throng of hormonal supernatural teens, Josie erected herself among the masses with the glow of the fire illuminating her. Josie had her head thrown back, laughing at something MG had said while leaning against Lizzie gently. The angelic sound of her laughter negates the harsh, booming bass from the speakers and Hope follows the sweet siren call of Josie’s laugh. Josie catches Hope from across the bonfire, eyes dancing in the fire as she waves at Hope.

However, her view of the young goddess gets overshadowed by her ex-boyfriend’s lumbering body. 

“Hey, Hope.” Landon stops in front of her, blocking her path from reaching Josie, and Hope has to bite her lip from barking at him to move. “Beer?” Landon offers her his bottle and Hope shakes her head, knowing how little it will do to get her to even the slightest of buzzes. Plus, she’s never been a fan of the taste. As Landon chugs it down, and by the heavy smell of alcohol on him, Hope thinks he’s had one too many. 

“I think you should take it easy, Landon,” she says in concern. 

“I’m fine,” he slurs and waves at her dismissively. Landon taps his feet awkwardly to the music, his free hand shoved into his jean pocket, and he opens and closes his mouth before shouting over the music, “I didn’t expect to see you here. You never really enjoyed going to parties when we were dating.” 

Hope shrugs. “Well, it’s my last year and all. Everyone’s been telling me to make the most of it, so here I am doing just that, I guess.” Hope peers over his shoulder to see Lizzie whispering in Josie’s ears. Josie who has a contemplative expression on her face. 

“Right,” Landon scratches his chin, pausing for an awkward beat. 

“We should probably go join the others—”

“Actually, do you mind if we talk? I was hoping we could talk about me and you?” He looks at Hope with glassy eyes and steps forward; Hope steps back immediately, not liking where this was heading already.

“Landon, I don’t think that’s a good idea. You’re drunk.” Hope crosses her arms, feeling uncomfortable with how close the stench of his beer-breath is.

He seems to notice Hope’s discomfort and takes a step back. “I’m sorry, I just…” he fumbles. “I need some answers.” 

“Answers about what? I thought we were moving past this.” 

“Maybe you have, but I haven’t. You broke up with me out of the blue and left for the entire summer without telling me why,” he practically yells. People are looking over at them, and Josie is sending a heated glare their way. 

Hope pulls him aside. “Quiet down,” she warns. “And I told you why we broke up right before summer,” she hisses. 

“All you said was that things changed, and you needed some time alone,” he argues. 

“You said you understood,” she sighs. 

“I did—I do!” He groans. “I just… All I want is for you to tell me what changed? Was it me?”

“No, I told you _my_ feelings for you just changed.” Hope folds her arms, wanting this conversation to be over and done with. “Landon, I don’t know what else to tell you.” 

“Was there someone else?” He looks at her brokenly. 

Hope heart fumbles as brown eyes flash in her mind, but she fixes her steely gaze on him. “No, Landon,” she sighs again, more weary than the last. Hope can hear the surrounding whispers, all staring at her and Landon. “Can we not do this right now?” 

Landon throws his arms up. “When then? Because all you’ve been doing since you came back was avoid me and spent all your time with the new girl,” he seethes bitterly. “Why are you so interested in her, anyway?” 

“I don’t owe you any explanation, Landon.” Hope glares at him. “I’m sorry this is hard for you to wrap your head around, but I don’t know what else to tell you.”

“Figures,” he scoffs. “Classic, Hope Mikaelson. The lone wolf that only cares about herself.” Landon drinks the rest of his beer and mutters under his breath, “Maybe you are evil after all.”

Hope freezes, her body going cold at his words. 

Landon seems to realize what he has said and swallows audibly. “Wait, I didn’t mean that,” he backpedals. Hope is digging her nails into her fist, trying not to show an ounce of being affected by his words. “I’m sorry, Hope. That’s not what I meant—I’m drunk and acting like an idiot and—”

“Is everything all right here?” Landon and Hope both turn to see Josie, surprised at her sudden arrival. Josie stands protectively by Hope with her arms crossed and lips in a thin line. 

“Everything is fine,” Hope breathed out heavily, not wanting to have Josie involved in the gossip that will undoubtedly pass through the halls after tonight. “Landon and I were just about to head on over to join you guys.” 

Landon shoulders sag in defeat, his eyes wide and apologetic at Hope. Hope is unfazed by it, remaining cool and disaffected. 

Then he sighs and gives Josie a weak smile. “Yeah, sorry, we were about to just walk over,” he corroborates Hope’s excuse. “I’m just going to get a refill first.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea…” but Hope’s words fall short as Landon brushes through the crowd and disappears. 

“Sorry,” Josie says. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. It just looked like he was bothering you and—”

“Josie, it’s fine. Really, you did me a favor by interrupting,” Hope sighs. When she looks at Josie, Hope notices the glassy look in her eyes and the deep frown. “Are you all right, Josie? You look pale.” 

Josie rubs her throat distractedly and lets out a shuddering breath. “I-I think so.” Then there’s the sound of glass shattering and wild hollers, making Josie jump in surprise and grip Hope’s arms. “Okay, I think I’m slightly overwhelmed by all of this still,” Josie admits. 

“What? You mean you don’t like the sound of drunk teens humping to this year’s top 40 party playlist?” Hope jokes. “Well, neither do I.” Hope softly pries Josie’s hand from her arm and holds it with her hand. Hope squeezes Josie’s hand and pulls her away from nosy eyes, greedily wanting to be alone with the young goddess. “Come on, let’s take a walk.” 

Hope leads Josie away from the raucous partygoers, heading deeper into the woods until the music becomes fainter and nature’s ambience reclaims the night again. Rushing water makes precedence as they approach a bridge, its archway and wooden railings covered by twisting vines and blooming red roses. The bridge illuminated by the white glow of the hanging lights, and Josie stares up in awe at the magical sight. 

As they saunter through the bridge, the sight of the Mystic Falls waterfalls are shimmering under the moon and its cool scent pleasantly mists over them. 

Josie releases Hope’s hand and leans over the railing, inhaling the refreshing aroma of the clear waters. Hope leans beside her and watches as the creases on the young goddess brows ease apart and a content smile replaces the grimace from earlier. 

“Feel better?” Hope asks. 

“Much,” Josie breathes out in relief. “It was like all the sounds got amplified and my head was trying to split itself open.” 

Hope nods in understanding. “Those parties can get out of control sometimes. I’m surprised Alaric or Caroline haven’t stormed in and broke it up yet.” Josie nods and takes a swig of her beer bottle, scowling at the taste. 

“I think I’m remembering I don’t particularly like beer,” she smacks her lips in distaste. 

Hope chuckles. “Neither do I. But it’s part of the whole ‘teen experience’ according to pop-culture.” 

“I wouldn’t remember,” Josie laughs. “But does alcohol even affect supernaturals?” 

“It depends on the supernatural,” Hope says. “Witches probably sustain a higher level of tolerance than non-supernaturals, but it affects them quicker than it would a werewolf or vampire.” 

“And Landon? He seemed pretty drunk when I walked over.” 

Hope freezes at the mention of her ex. Her mind had momentarily forgotten the strained squabble with him earlier. “He was pretty drunk,” Hope concurs. “But he’s just having a rough night.” 

Josie is staring down at the bottom of her beer bottle and swishing its contents around. “Lizzie told me that the two of you dated,” Josie mutters. “You never told me.”

“It a long one and one that reached its end.” Hope stares blankly at the waterfalls, sighing forlornly. 

“Humor the amnesiac girl,” Josie prods. “My vacant mind wouldn’t mind some classic teenage angst.” 

“It’s not all that interesting.” Hope looks at Josie’s pout and rolls her eyes, relenting to the young goddess’ curiosity. “He was the weird guy that charmed the lonely girl. We dated for almost a year, and it was great—I was genuinely happy. And then… then something changed at the end of last term and suddenly I wasn’t. I woke up one day and realized there was something missing.” Hope picks at the leaves on the railing. “I don’t know what I was missing, but I knew I couldn’t be with him anymore.”

Josie is nervously picking at the label on the empty bottle. “Do you still love him?”

“No,” Hope asserts. “My heart wasn’t in the relationship anymore and everything that I thought was love for him disappeared.” Hope shrugs. “It was probably better to end it sooner than later, I figured. Everyone who loves me ends up leaving me, anyway.” 

Hope feels her throat closing up and Josie gently places her hand on her arm. “Hope, why would you say that?” 

“Because it’s true,” she chokes out. “My Mom died because she was trying to save me and my Dad and Uncle Elijah did the same thing. The rest of my family is off living their life with their epic loves and I’m just,” Hope has to hold back the tears. Insecurities drowning her; Landon’s words ringing in her mind: _The lone wolf that only cares about herself. Maybe you are evil after all._

She closes her eyes and grits her teeth. “I’m just the freak daughter of the Great Evil Klaus Mikaelson. Who would stay for me, anyway?” 

“I would,” Hope opens her eyes, startled at the quickness of Josie’s claim. “I promise I will never leave you.” Deep brown eyes burn to her core, fixed on Hope with unwavering belief. 

But something inside of Hope coils in anger, resentment and bitterness rearing its ugly face at Josie’s promise—a promise she’s been told more than once and a promise that always breaks her. 

“You can’t promise that,” Hope snaps bitterly. “You don’t even remember who you are or what you are. We’ve only known each other for a few weeks, you’re just saying that because you don’t know anyone else.” She grips onto the railing and her eyes are closed. “Once you figure things out, you’ll realize that you’re better off without me.” _Everyone leaves me eventually._ “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

Hope hates the bitterness that is consuming her, the deep-rooted insecurities that she’s projecting on to Josie by pushing her away. 

Josie is silent and Hope expects Josie to turn around, find Lizzie and MG and acclimate to a normal social life without Hope in it—casting her out like everyone else does. And Hope will go back to being alone, like always. 

“You’re right,” Josie says sadly and puts her beer bottle down. “What do the words of an amnesiac girl hold? I can’t even remember who my family is or if there’s someone out there I love waiting for me. I don’t even know what supernatural being I am.” Josie laughs hollowly. “Why should I make a promise to a girl that I just met?” 

Hope closes her eyes and waits for the sound of Josie walking away. She waits for the warmth to leave her stranded on this bridge, alone and cold. But it doesn’t happen. Josie grabs her hands and faces Hope, brown eyes speckled with gold stars. 

“Then again, this girl is pretty amazing,” Josie sighs out heavenly. “In the few weeks I’ve known her, I watched her put her life on the line over and over for cruel, ungrateful people. I watched her get battered and bruise, just to have those very people she saved to sneer at her the next day.” Josie looks at her with emotion. “This girl saved me in more ways than one. And… and when I’m around her, she fills the gaping hole in my memories with bright images.” Josie brushes a strand of hair behind Hope’s ear, and the coldness from before thaws. 

“Hope, I don’t know when or how my past will come to haunt me, but I know that I’d be a fool to let you go after everything.” Josie leans in close and squeezes both of Hope’s hands affectionately. “Everything in my bones, straight down to my soul, tells me to stay. That this is where I’m supposed to be.”

Josie envelops Hope in a warmth stronger than any fire could bear, an embrace that soaks up all the bitter insecurities that Hope harbors. Landon’s cruel snipe at her, the vitriolic voices in her head, and Hope’s self-deprecating paranoia—they all quiet at Josie’s words. Hope melts in the young goddess’s arms and inhales the smoky scent of fire lingering on Josie’s red cardigan, and just beneath it the natural scent of a honeyed goddess soaked in summer’s glow. 

As she brushes her nose against Josie’s beating pulse, Hope shivers in delight at the sound. 

“I belong here with you, Hope.” 

Then a vivid image plays through Hope’s mind: 

_“I did it because everyone here loves you, Hope. You’re meant to be here. You, Hope Mikaelson, belong here.”_

_Hope enamored by brown eyes that are blazing into her, the glow of the bonfire shimmering in its reflection._

_Unexpectedly, she hears her whisper: “You belong here with me.”_

Hope blinks her eyes slowly and pulls back from Josie. _What was that?_ Why did she see Josie by the bonfire? A moment Hope is almost certain never happened.

But a blinding light pulls Hope from her thoughts, and she startles at the bright, pure amber glow of Josie’s irises.

“Josie, your eyes…” Hope brings her hands up to Josie’s cheek, caressing the soft skin under her burning hands. 

“Hope, I think… I think I’m remembering something,” Josie breathes out, her face scrunched in concentration. 

“What is it?” Hope is taut with anticipation. 

Josie then holds Hope’s face with her hands, staring deeply into Hope’s eyes as if they were the screen to Josie’s memories. Hope blushes at how close Josie is, the way her nose inches closer and how her breath blows gently against her parted lips. 

_Two souls with a love so pure, their fated reunion by true love’s kiss will be the cure._

And Hope thinks that maybe, just maybe…

But then there’s a loud scream that shatters the moment. 

Hope and Josie pull apart to see a crowd of students fleeing the party, all ducking wildly and screaming. 

“What’s going on?” Josie questions. 

Before Hope can answer her, there’s a screeching sound in the air like a siren notched to the highest pitch. The piercing gull-cries grow louder and suddenly Hope is thrown to the ground, a stinging pain on her forehead as her skull thuds against the wooden floorboards of the bridge. Through the ringing in her ears, Hope hears the garbled sound of Josie shouting her name.

Hope staggers up to her feet, alert with fear as Josie dangles in the air as a beastly winged-creature is lifting her up by its talons. Hope stares at the creature’s beady yellow eyes, a hideous glare as it caws its raven-like beak at Hope. The monster’s wings for arms spread out wide like a hawk and its feminine physique covered in feathers as dark as tar. 

“H-hope!” Josie yells and is thrashing wildly against the creature, attempting to detach the claws digging into her. 

But then an arrow swooshes into the creature’s hind and it shrieks in pain, claws retracting as Josie falls. Hope dives to catch Josie in time, the impact of Josie colliding in to her arms causing both of them to tumble. Arrows are flinging into the air, swooshing past her ears, and Hope sees Alaric shooting at the creature with his cross-bow. Hope relieved at seeing her headmaster, thankful that he didn’t leave with Dorian yet.

“Hope, get Josie out of here now!” he orders and charges forward, shooting more arrows at the creature.

Hope and Josie scramble up, but then the beast flaps its wings and sends a violent blast of wind that pushes them all down. The wind is so powerful that Alaric’s arrow redirects and flies straight into his right shoulder, piercing his flesh. Alaric cries out in pain and drops to his knee. 

“Dad!” Hope sees Lizzie running to her Dad, MG closely behind her.

The monstrous she-bird throws its head back, its black beak opening as a piercing cry breaks through the night. They all fall to their knees, the sonic pitch of the beast’s cries nearly shattering their ear drums. Then the creature dives towards Hope, and Hope scrambles to get up and yell: _Lecutio Maxima!_ A flash of lightening aims at the beast, but it diverts Hope’s attack with ease and points its talons at Hope. The winged-monster dives towards Hope, and she expects to be lifted away, but instead of being in the air she is shoved to the ground.

Hope watches in horror as the beast digs its claws into Josie, taking her in the air with the rapid flap of its wings.

Hope scrambles up to her feet, running towards Josie, and latches on to her ankle, soaring high into the air as the winged-beast carries them far from ground. As they go far above the trees, Hope’s stomach drops at the sight of how the entirety of Mystic Falls is all but a blurry speck now.

“Hope!” Josie shouts. Brown eyes are looking down at her, fierce determination igniting them. Hope notices that Josie has one of Alaric’s arrow in her hand, the pointed blade glinting under the moon. “Hold on!” 

She realizes what Josie is about to do, and Hope looks down at the blurry dot of Mystic Falls and the entire state of Virginia below them and gulps. “Wait, Josie! Maybe we should—” 

But Josie plunges the arrow in the beast’s heart, twisting it like a corkscrew as black blood squirts all over her face. They are being swung wildly in the sky as the winged-beast thrashes and screams in pain—Hope clings on to Josie’s legs tightly, trying not to let go as the creature violently convulses. 

There’s an agonizing whimper from the beast and in seconds its screeches go dead silent. 

The winged-beast, now limp and lifeless, releases Josie from its death-grip and they spiral down at an alarming rate. Hope wraps her arms around Josie’s torso and screams out a spell to lessen their impact, but the spell does little to stop the terrifying velocity at which they are falling. She screams it again, but the air is getting sucked out of her the faster they fall. 

Fear bubbles in Hope’s throat as she continues to repeat her incantation over and over. Hope closes her eyes and screams one last time and—

And then gravity ceases to function as they hover in the air. 

Hope opens her eyes to see Josie with pure golden eyes and wings spanned out in the sky, fluttering fast like a hummingbird and keeping them afloat. _Her goddess form._

“J-Josie?”

Josie is silent, burning bright as the sun, and Hope realizes that time has stopped around them. The leaves have stopped blowing, and the night is deathly silent. Next to them is the winged creature, frozen in mid-air. 

A blinding light emanates from Josie’s necklace, aimed towards the winged-beast. Hope is astonished to see the creature disintegrating into burning embers in the night sky—fiery ashes floating into Josie’s necklace, just like the first night with the Erymanthian Boar. Hope stares in awe as Josie glows impossibly bright, and only when the last ember falls into the gem of her rose necklace, does she begin to dim. 

The young goddess stares down at Hope in her arms, hot tears running down amber-gold eyes. 

“Josie,” Hope calls her. She brushes the tears away, surprised at how even her tears glitter like stardust. “Josie, it’s gone now. Come back to me.” 

Hope watches as Josie blinks the gold away and return to her favorite brown eyes. 

“Hope?” Josie’s voice cracks. “What happened?” 

Before Hope could answer, time starts again and they are falling from the sky. Josie seems to have forgotten that she has wings. 

“Josie! Fly!” Hope screams as she wounds her arms tightly around Josie’s neck. 

“Fly? What do you—Hope, I have wings!” Josie screams incredulously. 

“Use them!” 

Josie curses as they nearly get impaled by a pointed branch, veering them away in time. Hope watches as Josie’s face puffs in concentration, amateurishly navigating them as best as she could. They are crashing into the trees, branches smacking Hope in the face now and then—giving her a mouthful of leaves to cough out. Hope is nauseous with the way Josie flies, as if she were a bouncing rubber ball coming to a slow roll.

And roll they did. 

Josie’s arms are wrapped around Hope and as they roll and roll, she is eventually flung from Josie’s arms. Hope tumbles down a hill until she comes to a grinding halt, facedown on the dirt floor. Her head is pounding and bright spots momentarily impact her vision. Pushing herself up, Hope groans as her bones crack back in place and she stands up to see that they’re in the middle of nowhere—deep in the woods of Virginia. She notices the impact of their fall created a trail of fire, like a meteor crashing on Earth. 

Hope searches through the fallen timber and scorched gravel for Josie. Between the fiery embers and smoke, she sees Josie’s hazy figure on top of the hill. As she climbs up, she notices Josie is at her normal height, wingless with no golden shine—strikingly mortal in appearance. 

“Josie, are you all right?” Hope approaches her cautiously. 

Josie swings around, her eyes like saucers. “H-Hope. What am I?” Josie, palms up, shows her trembling hands to Hope.

Hope stares down at Josie’s gashed hands and they are dripping with blood. But instead of red splotches, thick amber-gold liquid is seeping from the cuts. Hope watches in awe as Josie’s skin immediately regenerates—tissues woven quickly as the cuts close and disappear. Not a trace of a wound, and Josie’s hand is as good as new. 

“Why did I have wings and what—what happened up there? Why can’t I remember?” Josie stammers. “Why is my blood gold and not red?” 

“Josie, let’s just calm—”

“Lizzie told me about that night,” Josie’s voice breaks and her eyes are wild at Hope. “How I fell from the sky with wings and saved you all from the boar. She said I was _glowing_ like a star _._ ” Josie looks down at her unscathed hands. “I heard Alaric and Caroline talk about how I was something they’ve never seen before. The entire school is afraid of me—I hear the whispers, you know? That I’m some alien freak.” 

“Don’t listen to the stupid gossips,” Hope growls. “They don’t know what they’re talking about.” 

“But are they wrong?” Josie throws her arms. “I fell from the sky, have wings like an insect, and I have blood that is gold!” Hope watches tensely as Josie paces back and forth. “Maybe I was a government experiment, and they wiped my memories and—”

“Josie, stop.” Hope grabs on to Josie’s arms, stopping the frantic girl from pacing. “You’re not an alien or a government experiment. Those are absurd rumors.” 

“Then what am I?” 

Hope stares at Josie, knowing that she can’t keep it a secret anymore. 

“You’re a God—a Goddess.” 

* * *

The clouds cover the moonlight with their ominous size and starts a light downpour in the chilly night which gradually becomes heavy. Quickly getting drenched, Hope and Josie rush to find shelter to escape the rain and rest for the night. They come across a small rocky cave covered in moss and hanging vines. Hope and Josie enter the cave—its low-ceiling causing them to crouch upon entering. 

“ _Post tenebras spero lucem.”_ A ball of light forms in Hope’s hand as they go further into the darkness of the cave. 

Josie is silently following behind Hope, Hope can hear her teeth chattering from the cold and her wet clothes. She hasn’t said a word to Hope since Hope revealed her knowledge of Josie being a goddess. They haven’t had time to discuss it with how quick the rain came. 

They reach the end of the cave and find an abandoned pit littered with beer cans and bottles, candy wrappers, and scattered bones of an animal. Hope spells them away, making the area more bearable to sleep through the night. Hope then starts a large fire to keep them warm and dry their damp clothes. 

“We should rest here for now,” Hope says. Josie seats herself down by the fire, hugging her legs to her chest without a word to Hope. Hope shrugs off her jacket and throws the damp material off on a nearby stalagmite. She seats herself down on a boulder across from Josie, letting the fire warm her cold weary bones. 

“I… I’m a Goddess?” Hope sees Josie’s eyes glued to the fire, watching the flames dance in the dark cave. “How is that even possible? Gods… they don’t exist. It’s all a myth.” 

“I know it’s hard to believe, trust me I didn’t believe it at first, but the Gods in mythology exist and you are one of them, Josie.”

“At first?” Josie lifts her gaze to pierce into Hope’s, skepticism seeped in those brown eyes. “You’ve known this whole time?” Hope winces at the accusation in Josie’s tone and shrinks into herself.

“I’ve known since we first found you that night.” 

Hurt flashes across Josie’s face. “What? You knew for _weeks_?” 

Hope watches as the embers from the fire float in the air, the sound of wood crackling filling the long pause Hope is taking. She inhales deeply and realizes that she can’t hide the truth any longer from Josie. 

“I was being chased by the boar and it cornered me at the edge of a sinkhole, so I jumped in and escaped.” Hope feels the burn of Josie’s eyes on her, absorbing every detail as Hope retells that night she found Josie. “I didn’t know where I was when I fell, but I saw you… in the middle of the sinkhole in a glass coffin.” 

“In a glass coffin? Like Snow White?”

Hope nods. “The Goddess of Love, Eros, was there. She was the one who told me you were one of them. That you’re a Goddess,” Hope finishes. 

Josie’s face scrunches up. “I—Eros? Like, Cupid?” 

“Yes, but Cupid is actually a woman.” Hope shrugs.

Josie stands and starts pacing. “This is insane,” she says in disbelief. “Are you lying to me?” 

“I’m telling you the truth, Josie.” Hope swears.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone? Why keep it to yourself?” Josie interrogates, distrust coloring her tone. 

“There were things I needed to figure out first to make sure everyone was safe.” Hope tries to explain. 

“You were afraid… afraid of me,” Josie whispers.

“Josie, no.” Hope stands quickly and approaches a trembling Josie, but her advances stop immediately at the sight of Josie flinching and recoiling from her. 

“You needed to make sure I wasn’t a danger to the school.” Josie accuses, misunderstanding Hope. “Was the only reason you got close to me was to keep an eye on me?” Hope rejects Josie’s claim once more, but Josie presses on. “Has every moment between us been a lie?” 

“No,” Hope cries, her heart breaking at Josie even questioning Hope’s intentions. “Every moment between us has been real. It’s… it’s the most real I’ve ever felt in months.” 

“Then why did you keep it a secret this whole time? After I told you how terrifying it is not knowing who or what I am,” Josie screams.

“To protect _you,_ ” Hope says through clenched teeth. 

“Protect me from what?” 

Hope pauses, thinking about the consequences of telling Josie everything. Thinking of Eros’ warning and all the monsters that attacked the school ever since Josie woke up. Hope thinks of all the dangers that Josie will be in now that she knows. But at the fury in Josie’s eyes, Hope knows that she won’t let this go easily unless Hope revealed all she knew. 

“Eros warned me you were under a spell to protect your soul,” Hope finally reveals. “She gave me a prophecy about you being cursed and that someone, or something, dangerous will come once you awoken.” Josie is silent, assessing Hope’s every word. 

Hope takes a deep breath and speaks the prophecy from memory: 

“Two souls will reunite, one of light and the other in plight, but both bound to a perilous fight. Tainted by a vengeful curse, their souls are destined to the darkness until it is reversed. A mighty foe puppeteers the game, a ravenous appetite that cannot be tamed. Two souls with a love so pure, their fated reunion by true love’s kiss will be the cure.” 

The prophecy flabbergasts Josie with the way her mouth opens and closes. “And… this prophecy is about me?” Hope nods. “Who is after me and what curse do I have? Who is the other soul?” Josie spews question after question. 

“I don’t know,” Hope admits. 

Josie scoffs bitterly. “Well, you know a lot about me than I do.” She throws angrily at Hope. “You knew about this for _weeks._ What else do you know that you’re not telling me?” 

“That’s all of it, I swear.” Hope gently steps forward, her eyes meeting every hesitant gaze of Josie’s. “I’m sorry for withholding information from you, but I was only trying to protect you and everyone at the school,” she maintained. “I needed to understand the situation Eros told me before I could reveal anything to anyone, especially you. I needed to be sure I could keep you safe.” 

“Hope you can’t protect everyone on your own,” Josie growls. “What were you really afraid of that you couldn’t have at least told _me_?” 

There’s an agonizing fear that is eating away at Hope—gnawing at her insides at thought of losing everyone she loves again. The same paranoia that drove her dad mad seems to run through her veins as well. But Hope can’t lose anyone else, she can’t lose Josie. Dreams and visions of Josie’s blurry figure being dragged away or being shot by arrows haunts her. Hope is crippled by images of Josie dying in her arms, watching the life leave her through vivid nightmares. 

Hope swallows thickly, eyes watering. “I can’t lose you, Josie. I can’t lose you, too.”

Josie’s glare softens a bit, but lets out an aggravated sigh. “You can’t let the fear of losing someone be the reason you hurt them,” Josie bites out honestly. “It will be an endless cycle of pain if you do.” 

And Hope knows Josie is right. She’s watched her dad do it for years, even to her. Maybe Hope is more like her dad than she thought. 

The sound of Josie dragging her feet away from Hope is like she’s trampling on her heart along the way. 

“Where are you going?” Hope says with panic. 

Josie stops in her tracks, her back still turned to Hope. “I—I just need to think,” she says. “Alone.” 

Hope feels tears prick her eyes as Josie sits at the entrance of the cave, spaces away from Hope, and pulls her knees close to her chest. 

_She hates me. She hates me. She’ll leave me._

As if sensing Hope’s inner distress, Josie cranes her head to look at Hope. 

“I don’t hate you, Hope. I… I just need to process.” Josie turns her back at Hope, staring out into the dark, rainy night.

Silence fills the cave, all but the trickle of waters and the crackle of fire fill the space. 

Hope slides down against the cave walls, her eyes glued to Josie’s figure. She knows Josie is right, and Hope knows how foolish she is for keeping it a secret. But if it meant keeping whatever demon hunting Josie away a little longer, Hope will do it all over again. 

As the fire warms her bones, Hope’s eyes slowly close as she lets the exhaustion win over. 

* * *

_Hope finds herself back at the sinkhole, but instead of its majestic nature, Hope notices how murky the air is. A thick fog surrounds her and the white roses are wilting, petals dropping to the ground in defeat. Then through the mist, her vision hones in on Josie convulsing on the ground bound by roots. She’s being strangled by them, and Hope horrifies at the white roses blooming out of her mouth._

_“Josie,” Hope cries and drops besides her. She’s ripping the roots away, tears welling in her eyes at the sight of Josie in pain. When the roots are free, Hope pulls Josie into her arms. Hope shudders at the slow beats of her heart and cries out to the heavens to save her._

_“Let me save you, please,” Hope cries. Josie brings her finger to her chest, tapping above her heart and scratching three burning words into her skin._

_Josie then stiffens in Hope’s arms and Hope watches through blurry vision as the rich warmth leaves brown eyes—cold and lifeless._

_Rain pours over them, her body is stiff and drenched from head to toe. But Hope doesn’t feel the cold, she’s numb by it as her heart and soul leave with Josie. Hope is cradling a dead Josie close in her arms, crying and crying for Josie not to leave her. Knowing full well that she’s already gone._

_There’s a screeching caw as crows circle above her menacingly. Suddenly, the ground is lit aflame and Hope watches as a demonic winged-woman walks through them. Her eyes are supermassive black holes trying to pull Hope in and her red-blood lips frothing as she steps closer._

_“Who are you?” Red lips twist into a sinister grin at Hope’s question._

_The demonic woman grows in size, her black-wings spread out wide as her obsidian eyes pierce into Hope’s soul._

_“Man, who has been scorned call my name for divine retribution, their contemptuous blood soak my dagger for a vengeful execution.” She snarls at Hope, razor-like teeth dripped with blood snapping at her._ “ _Two souls I have devoured for generations upon generations, now seek to escape eternal damnation.”_

_The demon pulls Josie from Hope’s arms, and Hope is too weak to stop her as the creature plunges a sword through Josie’s heart. Hope screams in pain, her heart shattering, as she watches Josie evaporate into white petals that fall to the ground._

_Hope stands on her feet, vengeance fueling her rage, and swings her fist at the devilish woman. But a harsh slap sends her to the ground, her cheek stinging as fresh cuts from sharp talons mars her skin._

_Talons wrap around Hope’s neck and lifts her off the ground. Hope is dangling in the air, choking as sharp talons dig into her flesh. Obsidian eyes go impossibly darker and a snake-like tongue slithers out._

_“His scornful curse holds a claim on this fractured soul, and my hunger for retribution will devour it before it becomes whole.” Hope screams in agony as the demon plunges their hand into Hope’s core, squeezing her organs in a tight fist._

Hope jolts up and coughs violently as she gasps for air. She’s twisting on the cold granite of the cave floor as a phantom pain sears through her. Cringing through the pain, Hope scours her surrounding: sunlight peaking through the crevices in the cave ceilings, the fire barely sizzling, and a young goddess nowhere in sight. 

Josie’s absence startles Hope, the burning pain in her core skyrocketing to her heart.

_Did Josie leave Hope in the middle of the night? Did someone take her?_

Hope runs out of the cave, squinting as her eyes adjust from the bright rays of light. Stepping out of the cave, inhaling the fresh dew of the morning, Hope gasps in awe at the magical sight of colorful flowers blossoming all around her. Yellow peonies, white daffodils, pink daisies, red tulips, and a hundred more variations of colors and flowers stretch for miles before her. A hoard of butterflies are flittering in the air, dancing fancifully with their colorful and radiant wings. 

In the center of the field Hope sees Josie sitting among the flowers, the young goddess staring up wistfully at the butterflies dancing against the light of dawn. The knotted fear in the pit of Hope’s stomach uncoils, eased to see the young goddess still here and breathing. She treads through the garden of flowers carefully, approaching Josie from behind and then sitting down next to her.

Josie tenses slightly at her sudden presence and then relaxes, her eyes still fascinatedly glued to the white butterflies hanging over them.

They sit there in silence together, watching the butterflies dance above them as the sun rises in the cool morning.

“After the rain stopped, and you fell asleep, I came out here to clear my head,” Josie breaks the silence. “I was angry that you kept a part of my identity away from me—I felt betrayed.”

Hope stares down at her hands, wringing them together in shame. “I never intended to upset you by keeping it a secret,” Hope whispers. “I was just trying to protect you.”

“I know,” Josie says. “That’s why I already forgave you,” Josie answers, surprising Hope with such immediacy. 

“You did? Why?” she croaks in surprise.

“Because I realized if I were in your shoes, I would’ve done the same thing,” Josie admits and shifts her gaze to stare at Hope with sincerity. “I realized if it were you in danger or needed protecting, I would do absolutely anything for you.” 

Hope heart soars at Josie’s oath, brown eyes sparkling at her with affection. Then Josie hovers her hand over a clear patch of ground and Hope stares in awe as gold dust falls from the tip of Josie’s fingers, glitters of gold seeping into the soil. 

“Josie, how are you—”

“After I came to this conclusion, flowers sprang from the Earth and bloomed all around me.” Hope looks at the golden glow emanating from Josie’s hands. “I thought it was strange at first, since flowers don’t bloom like this overnight. But then I realized that I was the reason—I was making them bloom.”

“You did all of this?” Hope stares in awe at the wide stretch of flowers around them.

Josie nods. “It started with white roses, then red carnations, then sunflowers, and then pink daisies, and then so much more.”

“This is amazing, Josie.”

From those gold dust rises a white rosebud. She lifts her hand over the rosebud; the petals unfolding as it goes into full bloom. Hope’s eyes widen at the tiny golden stars lay inside the rose, a dust of gold that Josie then blows into the air.

Butterflies circle them as gold rains above them, and Josie gently plucks the white rose from the ground and places it in Hope’s hand. The young goddess stands, hovering above Hope in blinding ethereality with the gold sun peaking behind her. Josie holds out her glittering hand out to Hope, pulling Hope into her heavenly glow.

Here with Josie in this magical garden, Hope can see the inside of her soul with such clarity and to call what she’s feeling as a mere infatuation is an insult.

Hope knows what falling feels like: it’s the sinking yet exhilarating feeling one gets when they jump off a cliff, diving into the refreshing cool waters on a hot summer day. It’s the swarm of butterflies of the first crush to the rush of the first kiss.

She’s experienced this once or twice in her life, but with Josie it’s different.

Hope can taste the savory air flowing in her aching lungs to revive her beating heart when she breaks water. Josie is the passionate summer that continues to burn through winter, warming her on the coldest of nights. 

Falling for Josie is the heat of the third kiss and the fourth and the fifth and the desperate gasps for air in between. 

Before Josie she was a mere rosebud, hidden in the shadows left untrimmed with prickly thorns. Now with her here, standing under the gold specks fallings on her soft brown curls, Hope is blooming under her fiery glow as the thorns fall one by one.

“Josie, I…” Three words begging to burst through her lips, overwhelmed at finally being realized and ready to erupt into the beautiful and magical moment of right now. And yet, Hope drowns those desires with doubt. Doubt in herself and doubt that Josie could ever feel the same for her—Josie’s soulmate is somewhere out there waiting for her.

Instead, Hope shakily exhales: “You’re magical.” 

Because, by gods, she is magical. Hope has spent her entire life surrounded by magic—she’s spent every waking moment fighting the potent force of magic that vibrates through her veins. But Josie is a magic that levitates you in the air, burning with pure and glorious magic untainted by the greed and apathy of man. Her magic vibrates through every nerve than any other magic she’s ever consumed.

And Josie laughs at her subtle confession, unaware of the emotional, introspective revelation Hope just had.

“I guess I am,” she shrugs. Josie stares deeply at Hope, caressing her fingers against Hope’s calloused ones. “Hope, can you promise me something?” 

“Anything,” Hope answers immediately. 

“Promise me that from now on, you’ll let me protect myself,” Josie demands, and Hope wrinkles her nose at such a request. 

“Josie—”

Josie shushes her. “I know I can’t stop you from wanting to protect me, but can you at the very least not treat me like a damsel in distress,” Josie says. “Hope, I was just attacked by a monstrous bird-lady, dangled over a thousand-feet in the air, and discovered I have gold blood that heals me.” Josie waves at all the flowers surrounding them. “I know I barely know what my powers are, but I think I can manage some of your hero responsibilities. I am a Goddess after all.” Hope laughs softly at Josie’s confident smirk. 

Hope bites the inside of her cheek, staring down at the rose in her hand. She quietly admits, “The thought of you getting hurt terrifies me.” 

“If mythology is correct, I can’t die. Immortal gods and all that.” Hope wants to tell Josie that all beings get hurt and die, even the immortal ones. She wants to tell Josie that her dad lived for centuries until death swung its scythe and ended his immortal sentence—that death is the only promise life gives.

“You’re not alone anymore, Hope.” Hope heart beats at the statement. “You don’t have to fight by yourself anymore—I won’t let you,” Josie swears. 

And Josie is staring at her with such conviction that Hope can’t help but believe it true—that Josie might be the one thing that will always and forever be an everlasting and undying love.

“Okay, I promise. On one condition?” Josie tilts her head. “Promise me that when we break this curse—when we solve this prophecy—we’ll always be,” Hope pauses, swallowing at her suddenly dry throat. “We’ll always be best friends?” _We’ll always be together._

“Best friends?” Josie says with a wry smile. Hope nods shyly, waiting for Josie’s ridicule. “I promise—I pinky promise.”

“You’re a dork,” Hope scoffs, but laughs and interlocks her pinky with Josie’s anyway.

“I’ll never leave you, Hope,” Josie promises. Her brown eyes dazzled gold. “Always and forever.” 

And suddenly, Hope is transported to a lost memory from years ago:

_Hope is sitting in the sinkhole, surrounded by vibrant wildflowers, and she’s digging a hole in the ground. Tears are flowing down her face as she opens a packet of flower seeds and pours them into the little opening she made. Hope cups a handful of dirt and fills the hole, patting it down securely._

_Brushing the dirt away, she then claps her hand together in a prayer and closes her eyes._

_“Dear to whatever deity is listening, I planted these flowers because I’m wishing for a miracle.” Hope chokes back a sob. “My Mom, Dad, and Uncle Elijah are dead. They’re in some place and everyone keeps telling me they found peace. I truly hope they did.” She takes a deep breath and tastes the salt of her tears on the tip of her tongue. “But with them gone, my entire life feels empty and cold. I planted these white roses because Aunt Freya told me that if I make a wish on them, my wish will come true.”_

_A gentle breeze blows through the sinkhole, a fragrance of honey fills the air and mixes with the floral scent of the surrounding wildflowers._

_“I’m here to offer you these roses, planted with all the love I have left, for a miracle—for a foolish wish made by a lonely orphaned girl.”_

_Hope wipes her snot and tears on the sleeve of her uniform._

_“All I ask is for you to give me a family again—send me someone who will love me forever and never leave me.” Hope sobs painfully and begs, “I’m so alone, please. You took the people I loved the most in my life, all I ask is for you to send someone, anyone, to love me again and make me feel at home again. Someone to take away my pain and live an immortal life with—someone who will be my always and forever, again.”_

_Through watery eyes, Hope sprinkles water over the planted roses. She stands up shakily and listens to the soft chirp of birds in anticipation. A butterfly, yellow with black stripes, lands on the mound of dirt where she planted the roses. Hope waits and waits, but as minutes pass by nothing happens._

_“This is stupid,” Hope scoffs and leaves._

“Hope?” Josie calls out to her and Hope realizes that she’s crying at the memory that reeled through her head—a memory she so vividly remembers now. 

_How could I forget that?_

How could Hope forget how she prayed in that very sinkhole for a year, watching as the white roses bloomed for a miracle? How could Hope not remember being at the same sinkhole she found Josie in?

Hope stares into brown eyes, travels down to the white pendant dangling around Josie’s neck, and then the white rose is now in Josie’s hand. A yellow butterfly with black stripes flies on the white rose, and Hope recognizes it as the same one from her lost memory. 

But then there’s the hum of a car that interrupts Hope’s thoughts and the sound of a door being flung open. 

She and Josie turn to see Alaric’s car parked in front of them, running over a portion of flowers Josie had bloomed. Alaric, Caroline, Lizzie, MG, and even Landon exits the car. 

“Josie!” Lizzie cries and Josie moves away from Hope just in time as Lizzie flings herself at the brunette. 

“Lizzie?” Josie squeaks under the crushing hug the blonde is giving her. 

Alaric then pulls Hope in a crushing hug. “We were worried sick,” he whispers. Hope allows herself to melt into his warm fatherly embrace, knowing how terrified he must’ve been watching her and Josie being taken away like that. 

She pulls back from his hug and realizes he has a sling over his shoulder—a casualty from his battle with the winged-beast last night. “How is your shoulder?” 

“Healing up just fine,” he assures. “Are you both okay?” Alaric looks over at Josie who is being crushed into another hug by Caroline. 

“We’re good,” Hope says. Alaric nods and then walks over to go check on Josie, probably to give her a crushing hug, too. 

She turns to see MG, who holds his fist out to Hope. “They were freaking out, but I knew you’d be fine and save the day.” Hope laughs and fist bumps MG. “I’m really happy you and Josie are safe, though.” 

“How did you find us?” Hope questions. They must be hours away from Salvatore, from how unfamiliar the terrain is to her. 

“Lizzie performed a locator spell,” Caroline steps in and pulls Hope into a hug. “The Harpy took you so high up that we couldn’t see where you went.” 

Hope pulls back. “Harpy?” 

“That’s what attacked last night,” Alaric supplies. “Another monster from mythology.” 

“No one could pick up on your scent, it was like you both vanished,” Lizzie adds, walking into the circle with Josie in tow. “Frodo was finally useful here and gave us a piece of jewelry to help track you down.” 

At the mention of her ex, Hope remembers that Landon was there. He steps into the circle they formed, hands deep in his jean pockets, as he stares at Hope sheepishly.

Landon pulls out a bracelet from his pockets and holds it out to Hope. “Uh, it was the bracelet that, you know, we had wore when we were dating.” He says awkwardly.

“Right,” Hope nods and musters a small smile to him. “Thanks, Landon.” 

“Of course,” he says. “I was scared and… I needed to find you to tell you I’m sorry.” Landon looks down in shame. “I’m sorry for how I acted last night,” he whispers. 

“It’s okay,” Hope forgives easily. “Thank you for helping find Josie and me.” 

Landon nods, and then Hope hears Josie hiss in pain. 

“Sweetie, you okay?” Hope hears Caroline ask in concern. When Hope looks at Josie, she sees the young goddess sucking on her thumb and dropping the white rose to the ground. 

“Sorry, pricked my finger on a thorn,” she chuckles lowly. Hope stares at Josie curiously because she distinctly remembers the white rose Josie gave her had not a single thorn. 

“We should probably head back now,” Alaric interrupts. “We have a lot to discuss and a long trip ahead of us.” 

They all move towards the car and pile into the van, prepared to make the long trip back. MG and Landon climb into the back while Josie squishes in the middle between Hope and Lizzie. 

On the road, Lizzie is ranting about the hot and cold war she is having with Alyssa Chang. Hope is zoning out and staring out the window, thinking about all that happened and her bizarre visions lately. 

She thinks of the vision of Josie at a bonfire, telling Hope that she belonged here. A hazy image of Josie laying down beneath her, laughter in her eyes and smiling radiantly at Hope as soft hands ghost over her face. And her most recent vision, a lost memory, of Hope planting roses and wishing childishly for someone to love her and never leave her—wishing in the very sinkhole Hope had found Josie in that magical night.

And Lizzie’s words all those weeks ago in the very beginning of the school term: _Do you think we are forgetting someone?_

Hope stares at Josie laughing with Lizzie, jamming out together to a song playing on Lizzie’s mp3 player. She stares at the clear image of the brunette in front of her, a contrast from the hazy figures of her in her elusive dreams throughout the summer.

Now, more curious than ever, Hope wonders: _Who was Josie?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it! The next chapter will be the last of Part II and then Part III will be the final chapters of this fic. 
> 
> I am thoroughly enjoying writing this and I am so grateful to have you all on this journey with me <3 
> 
> Stay safe, wear a mask, and if you're able to please register to vote.


	8. Part II : Dancing with a Ghost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Here's an update! So I said this would be the last chapter of Part II, but it's not. This chapter got insanely long as I was writing it and decided to split it. So the next chapter will be the end of Part II and then we will be heading to Part III--the final chapters of this fic! 
> 
> Thank you for your patience and for reading!

Hope is studying in the gardens on monstrous creatures in Greek mythology—ranging from the horrifying Scylla to the notorious Hydra—when she hears a group of students congregating at the center stage built for the Miss Mystic Falls dance. In all of those blurry faces, Hope immediately focuses in on Josie. 

The young goddess is wearing black leggings with one of Hope’s red sweaters thrown on to keep her warm from the autumn chill that is setting. Looking at Josie wearing her sweater fills Hope with pride. Josie had woken up late and hurled it on without realizing, apologizing to Hope for the mix-up when they met for lunch. When Hope saw Josie walking in the dining hall, she almost emptied her cup of tea at the way her heart excited at Josie wearing her clothes. With their height difference, Hope blushed at the way her sweater exposed the barest hint of Josie’s skin.

Vaguely, Hope remembers Josie telling her about dance rehearsals after classes. But Hope was so distracted by the exposed mid-drift that she hardly paid attention to the discussion. If Hope wasn’t so preoccupied, she might’ve heard Josie telling her who her escort was. Now, seeing the brunette from afar, she recognizes that it is Rafael.

The new wolf is awkward and flustered around the young goddess, holding his hand out to Josie as they rehearse. When his rough hands drop to Josie’s waist, touching Josie’s exposed skin, Hope drops her book and promptly moves towards the stage. 

But as Hope gets closer to just do that, Lizzie intercepts her. “What do you think you’re doing?” Lizzie crosses her arms and blocks Hope’s path.

“To rip Raf’s hand off of Josie,” she growls, her wolf clouding her rationality.

“You will not,” Lizzie snaps. “We only have two days until the pageant and Josie needs to focus.”

“Why Rafael?” 

Lizzie rolls her eyes. “He’s tall, handsome, loyal, and all around charming. The perfect candidate.” 

“He’s impulsive, hot-headed, and has the emotional empathy the size of a peanut for those outside his chosen pack,” Hope retaliates. 

“Reel in the jealousy there, Mikaelson, it’s not your shade.” Lizzie pokes. “And we want Josie to win, remember?”

“You want her to win.” Hope grits her teeth as she peers over the tall blonde’s shoulder to see Rafael fumbling Josie through every step. “Anyway, she won’t win if Rafael is her escort. He has two left feet and doesn’t know how to move to a beat if it were to save his life.” 

Lizzie turns around and Hope hears her groan in agreement as they watch Josie and Rafael stumble through the dance. 

“They just need more practice.” Lizzie turns to glare at Hope. “But if you think there’s someone better suited to be Josie’s escort, I’m all ears,” she challenges Hope. 

Hope opens and closes her mouth, incapable to come up with a response. Unable to be bold enough to tell Lizzie that Hope should be the one to escort Josie. 

“That’s what I thought,” Lizzie sighs wearily at Hope. “Now, go back to brooding on the side and stop distracting Josie.” Hope huffs annoyed and returns to her spot under the maple tree to watch Josie from afar. 

It’s been only a few days since the Harpy incident, but Hope rarely got to see the young goddess with how much time Lizzie has her occupied. By the time she wakes up, Josie has already left the room and Hope doesn’t see her until lunch. The disappointment of not seeing Josie first thing in the morning, however, is made up for by a flower and a note from the young goddess. Josie always leaves her a flower by her bed with a note of where she has gone off to—most of the time it’s with Lizzie practicing speeches or other times it’s with Caroline trying on dresses. 

And while Lizzie and Caroline occupy Josie’s time with the pageant, Alaric is throwing dusty old texts at Hope and sending her on patrol missions around the woods for any monster sightings. She spends most of the night with Alaric patrolling the surrounding woods around Salvatore, often in her wolf form. By the time Hope finished patrol, she’d return to the room excited to talk to Josie just to find the young goddess sleeping soundly in her bed. 

With Hope and Josie being pulled in different directions, they’ve scarcely had the chance to discuss all the secrets that are now out in the open. Well, not entirely out in the open. Hope and Josie agreed to keep what they knew just between the two of them a little longer—Josie not wanting everyone to probe her like a science experiment and Hope not trusting anyone but Josie. 

Hope has been more restless since she revealed to Josie that she was a goddess, feeling frightened of something breaking through and taking her away from Hope. Because of this, Hope complied with every one of Alaric’s extensive tasks he’s assigned her. Hope doesn’t mind it if it meant she can continue to keep Josie safe. The night patrols particularly give Hope time to recollect all her bizarre visions lately—visions that eerily resemble memories of a lost time. She has time to think about Josie’s memory loss and the endless possibilities of who Josie was before Hope had found her in the sinkhole. 

When everyone had lost their memories of Hope, when Malivore wiped her from existence, it was because of Malivore’s devastatingly strong powers. The strange thing is, Hope can’t recall how Malivore’s spell was reversed—she can’t recall who it was that returned her to existence. The harder Hope tries to dive into the mind, the more strenuous it becomes to uncover whatever is blocking her mind, and suddenly a sharp pain stabs at her brain. 

“Hope?” 

Hope stares at Josie hovering over her, the goddess wearing a concerned expression at Hope’s painful one. 

“What are you doing here?” Josie sits herself down next to Hope, tenderly placing her hand over Hope’s. “Are you okay? Is it another headache?” 

“Yeah,” Hope breathes out as the pain subsides. “It’s probably because of all the night patrols and heavy reading,” she concludes. “It doesn’t help with all the chaos with the pageant either.” All the chattering council members and gossiping teens have become a bit excessive. 

Josie nods in understanding. “Want to get out of here then?” She gathers the books from Hope’s lap and stands. “It’d be nice to get away from all of this.” 

“Won’t Lizzie be mad?” Hope stands. 

“Maybe, but I don’t think I can handle another tirade of how I need to crush Alyssa.” Hope sees a crowd forming in the middle of the dance floor as Lizzie and Alyssa throw insults at each other. “Plus, I missed spending time with just you.” 

“We sleep in the same room.” Hope takes the book from Josie’s hand and crams it in her bag, trying to suppress her elated grin at Josie’s remark. 

“Still seems like I haven’t seen you in ages,” Josie sighs dramatically.

“I missed spending time with just you, too.” Hope bumped her shoulder against Josie affectionately. “Want to head to the Old Mill?” 

Josie nods and glances over her shoulder. “We should leave quick before Lizzie notices.” Lizzie is still quarreling with Alyssa as MG and Caroline try to diffuse the situation. 

Hope and Josie scuffle from the gardens quickly, the chaotic voices at Salvatore fading away as nature’s music drowns them out. Their brisk pace slows to a languid stroll through the woods, feet crunching the autumn leaves along the path, and arms brushing for warmth as the temperature drops. Now, with just the trees surrounding them, Hope watches as Josie blooms dandelions from her palm.

“You should be more careful,” Hope cautions. “Someone could see you.” 

Josie shrugs. “It’s only the two of us out here.” The young goddess blows gold dandelion seeds into the air. “It’s such a simple thing to do, to bloom flowers, yet I feel such an overwhelming amount of magic when I do. Is this how all witches feel?” 

“In a sense, yes. For me, it’s like a fire stewing in the pit of my stomach and its flame burning to its maximum height when I perform a powerful spell.” Hope stares as a gold rose materializes from Josie’s palm, spinning at the center and unfurling its petals to exhaust a powder of gold that spills to the soil. “Witches, however, can’t do what you’re doing.” 

“What do you mean?” Josie dematerializes the rose into ashes of gold.

“A witch creates life from Earth, channeling the natural resources around them. When you perform magic, you are creating life from within. The flowers you bloom do not come from the soil beneath us, rather from the gold in your blood,” Hope notes. “That is something only a god can do.” 

“But I’ve seen you pull fire from thin air and transformed feathers into butterflies.” Josie counters.

Hope shakes her head. “I’m still pulling from the energy source around me.” They stop in the middle of the woods as Hope concentrates and produces a flame in her hand. “The magic inside me allows me to draw from particles in the air and start a fire. A non-supernatural can’t because they aren’t joined to nature like witches are,” Hope explains. 

Hope then picks up an autumn leaf, whispering an incantation faintly as she turns it into an orange butterfly. “Transmutation is only gifted to a powerful witch—”

“Like you?” 

Hope nods. “But those energy particles are still inherently part of mother nature, and when they bind with my magic is when their physical states can alter.” She points to the butterfly that is lingering above them. “And transmutation spells do not last because it’s against their permanent state.” The floundering orange butterfly above them shifts back to a falling autumn leaf, landing by Hope’s feet to be stepped on.

“That night I saw the butterflies fly out the window, though.” 

“The wind most likely blew them away when they shifted back to feathers,” she hypothesizes. “I can assure you though, no witch can transmutate and make it permanent. You, on the other hand, create life from the very particles in your blood and can keep it in a perfect unwilting state.” 

Hope points to the daisies popping from the soil where the gold dust that fell from Josie’s hand spilled. 

“Only you have the magic to do that.” Hope smiles at Josie with pride, continuing their leisure stroll towards the mill.

“That night, when we were in mid-air, you told me I was in some goddess state?” Hope nods, remembering the first night she saw Josie displaying her full powers and exhibiting the same powers when they faced the Harpy. 

“That’s what I’ve been calling it,” Hope shrugs. “I don’t know what the full extent of your powers are or how you tap into them.” 

“It’s so strange, though. Why can’t I remember?” 

“I think it’s connected to the protection spell Eros spoke of,” Hope guesses. “It may be the reason you can’t remember or access your full powers.” 

“How do I break it?”

“I don’t know,” Hope admits. “All I know is that it’s protecting you from the curse the prophecy spoke of.” Hope briefly wonders if they should even break it. If the protection spell is keeping Josie from succumbing to whatever curse that was cast on her, then Hope thinks it is best to leave it alone.

“The prophecy spoke of two souls being the cure to this strange curse?” Josie questions. “And you are confident this prophecy speaks of me?”

Hope nods. “You are to reunite with your soulmate and true love’s kiss will break the curse,” she grits out in disdain. Hope focuses her eyes straight ahead, trying not to show the brunette how those words of the prophecy affect her.

Josie glances at Hope curiously and challenges, “And you are positive you don’t know who my so-called soulmate is?” 

Hope huffs and kicks a pebble in annoyance. “If I knew, I would have beaten the idiot for leaving you alone in the first place and drag them back to break the curse.” She visualizes a blurry androgynous figure kissing Josie, and Hope can taste the bile rising in her throat. Hope turns at the sound of Josie’s easy snort, the young goddess staring at her with amusement. 

“What?” Hope ponders. 

Josie chuckles and shakes her head. “Nothing.”

Approaching the Old Mill, they walk up the steps with the floorboards creaking as they enter the rustic cabin. All signs from the rampaging party gone and only the miscellaneous trinkets remain inside the abandoned mill.

“Finally, peace and quiet,” Josie groans as she flops down on the tattered couch. “Lizzie has been driving me crazy with all the drills she’s putting me through.” Hope sits down next to the goddess, grinning as Josie drapes her legs on Hope’s lap. “And if Caroline has me squeeze through another pair of heels, I think my feet will fall right off.” 

“They must be even more painful with how much Rafael was stepping on them,” she laughs derisively. “I’m surprised you agreed to have him escort you.” 

“It’s all part of Lizzie’s plan to make me win Miss Mystic Falls,” Josie says offhandedly. “I barely could protest because Lizzie was so adamant to have him be my escort. I’m finding it easier to just go along with Lizzie’s plans than to argue.” 

“It generally is.” 

Josie swings her legs off of Hope, walking over to the dusty bookshelves to run her fingers along the spines of the neglected books shoved there. “Raf is a nice guy, though. He actually asked if I wanted to go with him to the Mystic Grill tonight.” 

Hope has to bite her lip from outwardly growling in discontent. “He asked you out? What did you say?” 

Josie pulls out a small book, and the corner of her lips ticked up amusedly. “I told him it was a nice offer, but I wasn’t interested.” She saunters over to Hope and seats herself down again, nudging Hope playfully. “I much rather spend my time with you.” 

Hope has to smash the urge to smile victoriously, her wolf howling in her chest as if she won the metaphorical alpha war with Raf for Josie. She looks at the book that Josie brought over, a leather-bound journal with a white rose stitched in the cover. 

“What do you have?”

“I don’t know,” Josie whispers. “It seems familiar to me, though.” She opens the book, dust puffing out that causes them to cough slightly. Josie runs her fingers against the inked cursive words and reads:

_To my loyal, strong, and beautiful Galen,_

_Today I made a decision that you are unhappy with, I did not mean to upset you so. I had to choose between my freedom to love and my duty to protecting my coven. The eradication of all witches—of all covens—enforced by the humans have sent my coven to corners all over this Earth, and our numbers have dwindled significantly._

_A union with Vanir ensures the protection of my coven; it is a marriage of business and not love. While I care for Vanir like a brother, it is not he who I love._

_It is you, Galen. It has always been you._

_I love you, Galen._

_Cowardice held me from telling you in person and cowardice still holds me even near my end as I still fear to even face you with the truth of my feelings, the depth of them that only brims for you._

_I love you. I love you. Forever, I love you._

_My heart tells me you feel the same, but doubt sways me. Even if so, it is too late. I waited too long and now my coven needs me. If this carnage against magical beings were not a factor, I would be with only you in any capacity I can till the end of my days._

_It is you who I wish to be with for all of eternity, Galen._

Hope’s eyes blur, her own tears dripping onto the page of the first letter. Josie turns the page to another entry, gazing at Hope with glassy eyes. 

“Would you like me to continue?” she exhales shakily. 

“Please.” 

* * *

When Hope blinks awake, she squints into the dark of the night with solely the moon to illuminate the Old Mill. She picks up her head up from the soft cushion underneath her, her eyes focusing in on that soft cushion being Josie. The young goddess snoring soundly beneath her, a strand of hair slipped between parted lips. Hope chuckles at the sight and brushes the loose strand away, observing as the young goddess stir slightly. Josie wrinkles her nose adorably before resuming her soft snores, content and deep in sleep. 

Hope moves off of Josie and stands, stretching her tired arms. From how dark it is, Hope assumes that it has gotten late. She finds it strange that Alaric hasn’t come running for her during their nightly patrols, or that Lizzie hasn’t come howling for Josie. Stepping forward, Hope hits a book with her toe and looks down to see the journal Josie was reading to her before. 

She bends down and picks up the book, her hands brushing against white rose on the cover. Hope found herself overcome with inexplicable sadness with every word Josie spoke. The letters written by the young woman, Rhea, expressed her deep love for Galen had moved Hope. Rhea wrote a letter every single day, from the day she accepted another man’s proposal to the day before her wedding. Hope could feel how in love Rhea was with Galen in her sorrowful unsent letters—how torn Rhea was when she had to sacrifice her freedom to love to protect her coven through her union with Vanir. 

Hope flips to the last letter, reading the last few paragraphs by Rhea under the moonlight: 

_Lovely Galen,_

_I think I am growing ill. I cannot tell if it is pre-wedding ailments to a man I now detest or a terrible disease that inflicts me. A powerful pharmakis came to me a few nights ago, offering me a potent tea that would bless the vitality of my marriage to Vanir and embolden the magic of our union for a prosperous new era._

_But ever since I drank that wretched brew, my stomach has been in burning knots. My insides scorched with pain. Breathing air is like inhaling glass. Maybe this pain is a bad omen to my marriage to Vanir tomorrow._

_This pain, however, is nothing compared to your distance, Galen. Since I accepted Vanir’s proposal, you have frosted without an inkling of warmth to even look my way._

_Though your fury is just. But I did not think it would be cruel to me. Vanir informed me you accepted his offer to find a salvation for refugee covens in the new world. He had told me you will set sail after the wedding. Has my decision affect you so that you must scamper off to the opposite ends of the world from me?_

_Selfishly, I had wished you would stay._

_More than anything, I wish it were you with me at the altar making vows before the high covens and the Gods. But the vows we made to our duty have made us turn a blind eye to the unspoken truth of our emotions. You bound to the oath you swore as Vanir’s apprentice, and I in protecting the longevity of my coven._

_This will be the last letter I will write to you, then. For after I bind my soul to Vanir, you will vanish and take my heart with you across the seas._

_I will only love you, Galen._

_Forever yours,_

_Rhea._

Hope holds the bounded letters to her chest, pressing them close to her aching heart. The words still striking against her heart the second time she reads them.

Then Hope’s ears perk at the sound of a twig snapping and she cautiously steps out to the porch of the cabin, peering out into the dark for any nefarious creatures. Walking out from the shroud of the trees and into the moonlight is a tall woman, her silky hair draping down her shoulders in a French braid, and instantly Hope knows who it is when she meets those gold mischievous eyes: Eros. 

Hope turns to wake up Josie, but Eros stops her. “Do not wake Josette,” Eros commands. “I am forbidden to have direct contact with Josette, all gods are until she breaks the protection spell,” she expresses sorrowfully. “If Zeus knew I was even here, he would strike me with his mighty bolt by now.” 

“Then why are you here?” Hope questions. 

“To warn you,” Eros’s voice booms. “The queen is making her move in this game of chess you are in, Hope.” 

Hope stills. “Has she not been making moves this whole time with all the monsters?” 

Eros shakes her head. “Pawns they are. She grows impatient, her quench for vengeance unfulfilled as promised. Her madness will not stop until she gets what she is owed.” There are those words again and Hope thinks of the demon in her nightmares screeching the same words to her. 

“All you do is give me riddles,” she scoffs.

“Riddles is all I can do to help,” Eros snipes. “I would rather not have the Olympians bound me to a rock like Prometheus and have my liver pecked away for centuries.” 

Hope shakes her head. “Then at least tell me how I can kill this demon that wants Josie’s soul,” she seethes. “Tell me how I can protect Josie.” 

Eros eyes shimmer. “You can’t protect her.” 

Hope gawks. “What?”

“Only Josette has the power to stop her, for only the power of a god can harm another.”

“Another god has been trying to kill us?”

Thunder roars and Eros winces. “Forgive me, Zeus. It slipped,” Eros sighs to the sky. “But yes, a god. A tainted, demonic goddess consumed by hate.” Yellow eyes flash dangerously at Hope. “You can not fight her, Hope. Fates have already willed it to be Josette.”

Hope sees dreams of Josie dying by the hands of this demonic god, and she thinks the Fates are trying to kill the girl she loves. “Josie can’t even access her full powers. How is she supposed to fight this demon on her own?” 

“She can once she breaks the protection spell and when she does, all will return.” Eros states and shocks Hope. The goddess blooms a rose in her hand, the petals unfurling to reveal a silver pendant. A necklace—the same one hanging around Josie’s neck. 

“You bound the spell to the necklace,” Hope stares in awe. 

“Once she breaks it, Josette’s memories will return, as will her powers.” Eros waves shatters the necklace in her hand into a pile of gold dust as it falls to the ground. “But once broken, all demons will unbind from their chains in the shadows. Monsters you have destroyed will return and so will a new hoard of beasts you have never heard of,” Eros warns.

“Then I’ll fight them by her side,” Hope argues with confidence. “I will never let harm come to her.”

Eros’ rueful smile does not reassure Hope, though. “The protection spell also protects Josette from the pain she will harbor once her full state is awaken.”

“What do you mean?”

“Josette can no longer have a moment’s peace once she breaks the spell. Pain will consume her,” Eros answers. “She cannot die, but she will feel the pain akin to it over and over until the curse is lifted by true love’s kiss.”

Hope shakes at the information Eros is telling her—if Josie breaks her necklace, she will be in endless pain? “If we don’t break the necklace—”

“Then death will swing their scythe and take the greatest heroes to come,” Eros finishes. The clouds begin to rumble and Hope sees flashes of lightning. “I have said too much.” Eros flaps her wings, lifting herself from the ground with the moon as her spotlight. 

“Wait,” Hope pleads, desperate for more answers. “I have been having visions—visions that feel like memories from a life I can’t remember. What do they mean?”

“Visions, dreams, and all that Morpheus douses you with, they all tell a story that is not my place to tell.” Hope groans as Eros’ winks at her. “In time, all will reveal itself and you’ll thank me for not spoiling it.” Eros grins like the Cheshire cat, pearly white teeth shining in the night as her golden eyes burn hot. She then spins in the air and burst into a flock of doves, flying straight to the moon. 

Hope lets out a long sigh and then turns to Josie, who is still sleeping soundly on the couch. “Josie, you have one annoying family.” 

Another twig snaps and Hope jumps at the thought she offended the almighty Zeus somehow and he’s amping to throw a bolt down at her. But then Hope sees Caroline whooshing towards them with her hands on her hips. 

“Young lady, it’s way past curfew,” the headmistress scolds. Caroline then looks over her shoulder to see Josie sound asleep and softens. 

“We only came out here to get away from the chaos of the pageant and doze off,” Hope explains.

“I know,” Caroline admits, laughing at the panicked look on Hope’s face. “I saw you two asleep when I was patrolling the perimeters.” The headmistress smiles and steps in to look over at Josie. “Alaric wanted to carry you both back to campus, but you two were so peaceful that I told him I would monitor you both while he and Lizzie went to patrol for the night.” 

Hope winces. “Lizzie is on patrol duty?” 

“She’s not happy about it either,” Caroline laughs. “But she knows how stress you and Josie have been and offered to take your place.” 

Hope thinks the dynamics between Lizzie and her have changed if the siphoner was willing to forgo her beauty sleep for Hope and Josie. Caroline then leans down and gently shakes Josie awake. 

“Sweet girl, it’s time to wake up.” Josie stirs slightly and flutters her eyes open. Sitting up and rubbing her eyes cutely, Josie leans gently into Caroline’s arms. 

“What time is it?” 

“Late, sweetie.” Josie stands up and her tired eyes light up as she walks over to Hope. “We should get back to the school before Alaric sends me another paranoid text asking if you two are all right.” 

Josie and Hope laugh, following Caroline back to Salvatore. 

Back in their room, Josie drifts back to sleep in her bed as Hope lays restlessly on her bed. She lets Eros’ words sink in now that she is alone with her thoughts. Danger is heading their way, and Hope can’t stop it from happening. She can’t protect Josie—this notion frustrates Hope more than anything.

Hope turns on her side to watching the peaceful sleeping goddess and she knows that she will have to tell Josie about the battle that is coming. She must ask Josie to break the protection spell on her, ask her to put herself on the front-lines to save them all from the danger headed towards them. But there’s only two days left until the Miss Mystic Falls pageant, and Hope wants Josie to have a few moments of peace before the pain and chaos of the battlefield.

She wants Josie to enjoy being a “normal” supernatural teen before she takes the mantle of being a goddess. Hope will tell Josie after the pageant. And whatever powerful demon comes after them, whatever monstrous beast they have to fight next, Hope will be beside Josie to protect her always.

* * *

The next day Hope wakes up to a flower next to her pillow—a white gardenia today—with a note from Josie reading:

_Miss Mystic dance rehearsal with Lizzie and Raf in the gym. See you at lunch. Josie._

Hope smiles and smells the sweet fragrance of the gardenia, moving out of her bed to add it to her growing wildflower collection. At the windowsill is a vase of varying flowers Josie has produced for Hope every morning: red and white roses, pink azaleas, orange lilies, sunflowers, and purple hydrangeas. Today, Hope adds a white gardenia to the collection.

The sun that comes through the window and feeds the array of flowers are insignificant, as Hope realized that the flowers Josie blooms remain in a stasis of perfect beauty—not a single petal has fallen nor a thorn seen on their stems. The sunlight peaking through the window casts a soft halo around the colorful petals, and the golden dusts inside them flitter in the air like stars.

Pulling out a brand new canvas and her oil paints from beneath her bed, Hope sets her art station to capture the beauty of them as her fingers twitch with inspiration.

Without knowing, hours passed by as Hope lets her hand seamlessly flow against the canvas as she creates an impressionistic interpretation of the flowers. Paint splatters against the white tarp on the ground and all over her white apron. Hope forgets time when she paints, honed in on the drips of paint on the canvas rather than the ticks on the clock.

“You missed lunch.” Hope’s hand freezes mid-stroke. She turns on her stool to see Josie holding out a plate of food to Hope.

Hope looks at the clock to see that it’s a quarter past one and that she has been painting for hours. At the sight of food, her stomach grumbles embarrassingly loud and she sets her paints down. Hope rushes to the restroom to clean herself up, tossing the soiled apron into her laundry basket.

From the bathroom, she hears Josie’s voice: “This is beautiful, Hope.”

Stepping out from the bathroom, clean from the splotches of paint on her skin, Hope sees Josie assessing her piece in awe. Hope walks over to the plate of food and takes a hearty bite of the sandwich Josie brought her, her stomach finally appeased from having missed breakfast and lunch.

“Is this what you’ve been doing all day?”

Hope swallows her food and nods. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to miss lunch with you and the others.”

Josie shrugs, eyes still tracking the details of Hope’s new painting. “You didn’t miss much, other than Lizzie and Alyssa going at it again. I swear, the pageant is more chaotic than fighting monsters,” she laughs. “I much rather fight a gorgon than have to listen to the politics of Miss Mystic one more time.”

“Well, you only have two days left and then you’ll never have to endure Lizzie’s tedious Miss Mystic bootcamp for another year.” Hope laughs at the pained expression Josie makes. But Hope thinks this is the most peace they’ll have until Josie is forced to break the protection spell and they must face all the demons headed their way.

Refraining from thinking too hard about the upcoming days, Hope diverts her attention back to Josie, who is groaning about having to go back and rehearse with Rafael.

“I can’t tell if I’m just a horrible dancer or if Raf and I just aren’t connecting.” Josie falls back on her bed, body spread out like a starfish.

“The latter,” Hope chimes immediately. “You are not a horrible dancer.”

Josie sits up on her elbows, rolling her eyes at Hope. “You’re just saying that. You’ve never seen me dance.”

_I’ve dreamt of you dancing with me—you are wonderful._

“I don’t need to see you dance to know that you’re not a horrible. You move with grace in your steps while Raf stomps his way through the halls with heavy feet.” Hope brushes the crumbs away and stands to fiddle with the stereo in the corner of her room. “You just don’t have the right partner.”

A soft ballad fills the room and Hope moves to stand in front of Josie with her hand out.

Josie bites her lips, curiosity aimed at Hope’s gesture. Nonetheless, she takes Hope’s hand and stands. “What is this?”

“Showing you what it’s like to have a proper dance partner.”

Josie laughs and curtsies at Hope’s bow. The piano fills the room as their hands mirror each other, never touching, and circling each other with eyes locked.

“It’s all about the temptation of the touch,” Hope instructs as they repeat the motion, moving counterclockwise. “The push and pull that makes the first touch more passionate.”

“Never knew a dance could say so much,” the brunette quips playfully. Josie and Hope face each other at the swell of the first chorus, hands finally joining at the crescendo and flawlessly moving together in a traditional waltz. With all the people Hope’s danced with, none compares to Josie’s soft touch and easy steps as they move in sync with one another.

Light filtering through the window, spotlighting the two of them in this private dance as they continue to sway to the song in each other’s arms. The gold specks from the flowers that hang in the air, creating constellations in brown eyes, add an enchanting aura to the dance and Hope thinks she’s the one under a powerful spell. All she wants is this moment to never end, swaying to the music with Josie in her arms as the world of monsters and vindictive beings fade away.

They are just two souls trying to escape the harrows of the outside world that demands too much from the young. They are just two kids pulled into each other’s gravity, and the only monster that haunts them are the unspoken words that hang in this slow dance between them.

“I didn’t know you could dance so well,” Josie admits breathlessly as Hope continues to lead her.

Hope twirls Josie around and pulls her back in close and smirks. “I was Miss Mystic Falls.”

_“I need to remind you who Miss Mystic Falls was and what an amazing dancer I am.” Hope holds Josie, leading her in the intimate and romantic dance that is the waltz._

_“You know, I was just joking,” Josie sighs out softly, red hues beautifully coloring her pillowy cheeks._

_Hope’s heart rushes in, rushing at the feel of Josie in her arms and the beautiful synchronicity of their movements—of their hearts. “I know, just wanted to dance with you.” She dips Josie down and Hope can see stars._

The door swings open, loudly breaking the moment between Hope and Josie, as Lizzie barges in. Josie pulls back from Hope to cross her arms at the blonde, raising her brow inquisitively at Lizzie. Hope shakes the vision away to look at the fuming siphoner in the room.

Lizzie is staring at Hope and Josie with bewilderment, but then shakes out of her stupor and places her hands on her hips. “We need to go shopping,” Lizzie demands. “Alyssa bought the same dress she obviously knew I bought for you and now we need to get you a new one and outshine that _ex_ -best friend of mine.” 

“Can’t we go tomorrow?” Josie sighs.

“No time, Jo.” Lizzie whines. “Tomorrow will be too chaotic. We have to go, now.” 

Josie relents. “Okay, okay.” Lizzie is dragging Josie away when the blonde stops and twirls around to glare at Hope. 

“Hope, what are you doing?” 

Hope scratches her head awkwardly. “Standing here as you drag Josie to go shopping and bond over the cute frills of dresses?”

“Do you really think my Dad would let us go to town without you and let me drive his precious car?”

Lizzie throws the car keys at Hope, Hope catching it begrudgingly in the air. The blonde drags Josie out of the room and snaps at Hope to hurry. Hope throws on her black leather jacket and exits her dorm, grumbling as she follows Josie and Lizzie.

* * *

The three of them are in a classy boutique in town, their third stop so far, and Hope thinks she’s gone cross-eyed with all the dresses Lizzie made her scour through. 

She’s sitting down on a sofa in the dressing room, waiting for Josie to walk out in another gorgeous dress—Hope thinks Josie looks gorgeous in everything. But with the way Lizzie paces herself into the ground, she knows the blonde is looking for more than gorgeous. Although, Hope is sure that Lizzie is going overboard with her nitpicking. Even Josie is getting exasperated by Lizzie’s antics at this point. 

“Maybe I should’ve taken that blue one on the rack,” Lizzie voices her thoughts.

“Lizzie, I think you need to take it easy.”

“Easy? We need to _crush_ Alyssa, Hope. Need I remind you that my ex-best friend is the one who started this war by trying to sabotage Josie?” 

Hope shrugs in her seat. “She’s just trying to get under your skin, and it’s clearly working.” 

Lizzie rolls her eyes and then stops. “Where is that incompetent worker with the rest of the dresses? Do I need to do everything myself?” 

“Lizzie, don’t harass the workers,” but Hope’s words fail to reach the blonde’s ears as she is storming outside the dressing room. 

Hope slumps down in her seat, picking at her cuticles aimlessly as her mind wanders to the visions she’s been having lately. All of them play in her mind like hazy memories that got lost in the recess of her minds, but only recently are projecting in the back of her mind like a scratchy 35mm film—erratic cuts of damaged footage that stumps Hope.

At the sound of the dressing door unlocking, Hope looks up as Josie walks out timidly. Hope straightens in her seat, alert at the divine goddess that steps in the aisle before her, and Hope’s mouth goes dry—choked up at Josie’s beauty. 

Josie walks towards Hope in a burgundy ballgown dress that flares out from the waist, shoulders bare with her brown locks draping down them in loose waves. A laced applique stitch of flowers adorns the bodice of the dress, minimal specks of white rhinestones dotted in the pattern to add a sparkle. The dress wraps around Josie’s thin waist with a red silk bow-sash and then flairs with hemlines of sheer ruffles cascading down to further complement the princess design. Air is thin, mind frizzed, and eyes rack-focused on the breathtaking young goddess before Hope. Rich brown eyes intoxicate Hope, her mind dizzy with affection.

“It’s too much, right?” Josie wraps her arms around herself insecurely. 

Hope slowly stands, legs lightly shaking, and whispers breathlessly to Josie, “You’re beautiful.”

“You like it?” The brunette smiles shyly, biting her lips.

Hope approaches Josie and gently takes both of Josie’s hands into hers, looking Josie up and down in appreciation up close. “If I didn’t know you were a goddess before, then I am certain of it now.” 

Josie rolls her eyes, but her cheeks redden. “Shut up,” she says and pushes Hope away from her. “That’s such a stupid line.” 

Hope laughs. “Yet it’s true all the same.” She takes Josie by the hand and twirls her around, delighting in the sound of Josie’s infectious giggle. 

When she spins back into her arms, leaning her forehead against Hope’s, Hope surges with the desire to lean forward and capture Josie’s lips. Her mind lists a million reasons as to why she shouldn’t, but her heart screams the only one that compels her to give in.

If Hope is not Josie’s soulmate, Hope is certain that Josie is hers.

“After you leave this set of dresses, I need you to go out and get the other three sets I’ve laid out.” Lizzie’s voice booms through and incites Hope and Josie to pull apart. 

Lizzie walks in with a poor employee carrying a load of dresses in her arms. When the blonde finally stops and looks at Josie, her entire demeanor softens. 

“Jo, you’re so beautiful.” Lizzie tears up and rushes to take Josie in her arms. 

Josie pats Lizzie affectionately on the back as Lizzie cries. “Lizzie, why are you crying?” 

Lizzie pulls back and sniffles. “With you in this dress,” she sighs happily. “We’ll burn Alyssa to the ground.” 

Hope scoffs. “Really, Lizzie?” 

Lizzie then waves at the poor worker. “Lady, I don’t need any of this—they’re all horrible,” she squawks at the employee. “We’ll take this one.” Lizzie interlocks her arms with Josie, pecking the brunette’s cheek.

As Hope watches the two of them giggle and whisper to each other, her heart warms at their instant bond rather than the possessive jealousy she had when Raf held Josie. Just as Josie has become such an important figure in her life, Lizzie has too. Somehow, Lizzie became one of the closest people in Hope’s life that she can now call a friend—a loyal confidant. In Josie’s presence, Hope sees the best of Lizzie and the depth of her kind soul that not all are privy to see.

“Now that we have Josie’s dress, it’s time to find yours, Hope!” Lizzie squeals excitedly. 

“Lizzie, no. I’m just going to wear something in my closet—”

“I saw your closet, Hope. It’s horrible. You have horrible taste.”

Hope recants her previous thought. Lizzie is a vile person. 

She groans when Lizzie hollers for the overworked employee for the next batch of dresses—if Hope could leave a tip to retail workers, she would give this poor woman every dollar in her wallet for dealing with Lizzie’s intense demands. They spend the next half-hour or so throwing on more dresses, Lizzie and Hope giving Josie a fashion show this time.

When they finally settle on a dress for Hope and Lizzie, the three of them conclude their impulsive shopping spree— _finally._ They leave the dressing room in disarray, dresses flung all over and heels scattered, and Hope feels guilty for such a scene.

Josie and Lizzie skip out of the store, shopping bags in hand, as they left Hope to deal with the expenses. 

“Sorry for the mess and my friend’s crazy personality,” Hope apologizes to the worker. The woman is tall, with high cheekbones and a sharp chin. She has a pale complexion, almost ghostly white as the moon, and long black hair that falls way down her back. 

“Nonsense, dear.” The woman hands Hope back her platinum credit card. “You three are all so lovely. Especially the brunette, she is beautiful.” Hope looks out the store window, watching Josie throw her head back in laughter with rosy cheeks from the cold autumn breeze. 

“She is,” Hope says with a smile. 

“You must protect each other, Hope.” Hope whips her head back to the woman who is looking at Hope seriously, violet eyes stunning Hope. 

“Who are you?” she barks and steps back defensively. 

The woman smiles her red lips at Hope. “I do not glorify in my name being told in heroic tales like Eros does.” At the mention of Eros, Hope realizes she’s faced another goddess who is just as cryptic as the last. The goddess holds out her slender fingers to Hope, palms up as a golden pen materializes. 

“Take this, you’ll need it.” 

“A gold pen?” Hope takes the pen skeptically and is about to click the utensil when a warm hand stops her.

“Do not activate it,” the puzzling goddess warns. “Only use it when the time calls for it.” 

“To write?” Hope mocks derisively. 

Long lashes flutter, and a confident smile curls from rouge lips. “You’ll know when the moment presents itself.” She then leans over the counter, a serious and menacing glare of violet eyes piercing at Hope. _“Tread carefully for a void separates one soul from another, in peril one must have unwavering faith in the other.”_

“Why do you Gods only bring me riddles and headaches?” 

The mysterious goddess smiles and then evaporates into tiny balls of light, floating into the fairy lanterns hung around the boutique. 

Hope then hears the goddess’ voice echo in her ears. 

“ _Send a message to Josette for me: In the dark, love will light the path to home.”_

“Dear, can I help you?” Hope turns to see an elderly woman walk out from the employees’ room, staring at Hope curiously. The old woman is yawning and rubbing her eyes tiredly, and Hope realizes that this was the employee that was supposed to be helping them. 

Hope shoves the golden pen in the pocket of her jacket. “No, ma’am. Have a good day.” She hastily leaves, trembling from another mysterious encounter. 

She approaches Josie and Lizzie, the elusive goddess’ message at the forefront of her mind.

Hope nearly startles when Josie places her hand on Hope’s shoulder. “Hope, are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” 

_Not quite._

Hope gives Josie a reassuring smile. “Just cold, that’s all.” 

Josie squints at Hope, eyeing her skeptically. 

“Let’s get back to school then before we freeze our toes off,” Lizzie supplements. 

The three of them walk to the car, when an icy gust of wind blows through town and sends shivers down Hope’s normally heated body. 

Lizzie throwing the bags in the back seat of the car and Hope is putting the key in the ignition when she realizes that Josie isn’t in the car. 

“Josie?” 

Hope takes the ignition out, ignoring Lizzie’s whine for heat, and notices Josie standing off to the side staring out into the woods. 

“Do you see it?” Josie is looking up to the sky, eyes wide and she can see gold in those brown eyes. 

“See what?” 

“The fairy,” Josie whispers in awe. 

Hope stares up but sees nothing but the grey clouds hiding the warm sun away. Lizzie steps out of the car, shivering as she stands next to Hope. 

“Why are you both staring at the clouds? Yes, it’s going to rain. So can we please go now before the storm bites us in the ass?” 

But before Hope can even tell Lizzie to shut up, Josie is sprinting off like a madwoman. 

“Josie!” Hope and Lizzie scream. The two of them chase after the young goddess as she runs past the sign of Mystic Falls and into the outskirts of the woods. Hope and Lizzie are dodging oncoming cars, a string of slurs and cars honking at them as they try to keep up with Josie. 

Much to Hope’s surprise, the young goddess is remarkably fast. Josie is ways ahead of her and Lizzie, her image getting smaller and smaller as they rush deeper into unknown territory. They’re completely off path now, far from the town and far from school.

Hope hops over knobby roots and ducks below low branches as she stomps her feet against the damp gravel to get to Josie. She hears Lizzie panting behind her, but Hope charges forward with tribrid speed to catch up to Josie. Hope closes in on Josie and stretches her arm out to grab Josie’s elbow, pulling her back to stop. 

“Hope, what the hell are you doing?” Josie seethes. 

“Me? What the hell were _you_ doing running off like that?” Hope pants.

“Where’d it go?” Hope bewilders at the way Josie is moving around in circles like a madwoman. “I lost it, damn it!” 

“Can you stop moving and explain to me what exactly is going on?” Hope crosses her arms. “You scared the hell out of me by running off like that.” 

Josie relaxes her glare and shifts guiltily at Hope. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to run off like that.” The brunette twirls around, head up in the clouds in search for something. “I only ran off like that because I saw a fairy.”

“A fairy? Like Tinkerbell?” 

“Well, yes, but also no? They glow like Tinkerbell, but they scream more _Pan’s Labyrinth_.” 

Hope blinks at Josie, not understanding the reference. “You’ve been spending too much time with MG.” 

Josie stops her search in the clouds to look at Hope and laugh. “Actually, that’s a Lizzie influenced reference.” 

“Okay, so you’re chasing after a real life fairy. But why can’t I see them?” 

“I don’t know,” Josie admits. “All I know is that this same fairy is the same one I saw when I first woke up in the infirmary at Salvatore.” Hope remembers that night she found Josie hovering over the window and falling out. “I thought I was hallucinating at first and completely forgot about it until now.” 

“Do you know what they want with you?” 

“I think they’re trying to lead me somewhere.” Josie then sputters and grasps the air to Hope’s confusion. “Ah, there you are!” Hope watches as Josie leaps in the air with concern (and great amusement) until something smacks her in the face and dust gets caught in her eyes. 

Scrubbing her eyes, Hope blinks them open slowly. When her vision focuses in on a huffing Josie, Hope flabbergasts at the giggling creature hanging above them. 

“Is—is that a fairy?” 

Hope stares in awe at the gold fairy, hairless and nude, as they wink at Hope with an impish smile. Bulbous eyes gleam at Hope with innocence, but their long, sharp talons signify otherwise. The fairy hovers by Hope, flapping their luminous moth-like wings, and then blows raspberries in Hope’s face—startling Hope as she falters backwards and falls on her ass. 

“H-hey!” The fairy bubbles with laughter and then flitters back to Josie, resting on the young goddess’ palms. 

Josie giggles as Hope scrambles to her feet. “You can see them?” 

“Fairy dust to the eye gives those of us who aren't gods the gift of sight, I guess.” Hope wipes the fairy spit from her face and nods. “Because of that, I know where to swing if the imp tries to spit in my face again.” The fairy sticks out their tongue and mockingly grin their pointed teeth at Hope. 

“Why have you been taunting me to follow you?” Josie addresses the sprite on her palm. “Where are you trying to take me?” The fairy spins in the air and then tugs at Josie’s hair, urging her to follow. Josie is wincing in pain, swatting the devilish sprite from her hair. 

But at the sound of a loud roar, the fairy untangles their talons from Josie’s hair and flies away. Hope and Josie chase after them, and the further they go into the woods, the more dense it becomes. They push past branches, stepping over slippery rocks, and finally approach an ominous cave where the tiny ball of light zooms through. A thin cloud of smoke pools out from its mysterious depths and curls around their ankles, and fear settles in Hope’s bones. 

“Josie, wait.” Hope pulls the young goddess back when she sees her rushing in. “We should think about this first. For all we know, this could be a trap.” First Eros’ warning last night, and now this new goddess at the boutique—all the signals are blaring red to Hope. 

“Hope, I’m not turning back now.” Josie crosses her arms. “The fairy is trying to lead me somewhere important, I can feel it. Trap or not, I need to go in.” 

“I thought we agreed to stop being reckless.” 

“We also agreed to trust that I can protect myself,” Josie quips. “Every creature we’ve fought has been leading us towards this direction, Hope. A key to our mysteries lies beneath these mountains.” 

Hope throws her arms up in frustration. “You are so stubborn, you know that?” 

“I will not fear rule me, not anymore.” Josie says defiantly. The young goddess takes hold of her hands and squeezes gently. “Hope, please. As long as we’re together, we can take on whatever beast is waiting for us in there.” 

Then the ground beneath them shakes, and they hear Lizzie’s screams echo through the woods. Josie and Hope turn to see Lizzie running towards them, screaming her head off. The blonde runs into Josie’s arms, panting harshly as she tries to catch her breath.

“You. Assholes. Left. Me.” the blonde screeches. 

“Lizzie, what’s wrong?” Josie asks. 

“A huge cat tried to kill me and you two just left me,” she growls. 

“What are you—”

Hope’s words die on her lips as they see a golden lion charging at them, its gargantuan size rivaling that of a freight truck. 

“A Nemean Lion,” Josie whispers. 

“A what?” 

The three of them step back cautiously as the golden beast stops before them and throws its head back and lets out a ferocious roar. Then the lion thumps its tail on the ground and crouches down menacingly, ready to pounce at them. Hope notices the blood dripping from its knife-like teeth and she gulps. 

“Looks like the only way to escape is to go through the caves,” Josie quips derisively. 

“Run!” Hope yells and the three of them race into the cave, dodging the feline beast’s pounce. 

Hope conjures a ball of light to guide them through the dark. Behind them, the lion squeezes through the entrance, breaking the limestone walls with its enormous size. The beast beats its mighty paws against the pavement as it chases after them. 

Inside the expansive cave are a myriad of diverging paths—tunnels upon tunnels as they run deeper into the belly of the mountain. A labyrinth below the mountains of Mystic Falls, harboring unknown creatures—Hope wonders if this is the nest Alaric and Dorian were supposed to research before the Harpy incident. The beast sends another booming roar behind them, shaking the cave as stalactites fall—making it even more strenuous on their bodies as they dodge from getting impaled. 

They nearly halt when the cave splits into two paths, but with the foul stench of the lion’s roar breathing down their necks, Hope instinctively goes left and Josie and Lizzie follow without question. The tunnel narrows as they soon crouch through the path, elbows rubbing against one another. Hope hears the lion wail against the cave walls, unable to get through with its size and pawing through the entrance like a cat hunting a mouse. 

Taking a sigh of a relief, Hope leads them through the narrow tunnel with more ease now that the golden lion is no longer trailing close behind them.

They reach the end of the tunnel and Hope expands her luminescent ball high above them as is shines through the void upon her exit. With the scene lit, Hope’s jaw drops at the grand cave concealing the ruins of a stately palace. 

She hears Lizzie and Josie gasp when they exit, all three of them staring at the forgotten kingdom within the mountains. Debris of a once extravagant palace scatters around them, their feet echoing against marbled floor. Hope marvels at the pillars wrapped in vines flanked beside them, its towering size still remarkably intact. They tread carefully through the great hall, broken vases crunching beneath their shoes and jewels shimmering under Hope’s light. Yet even in their fascination of this lost place, Hope remains alert as she can smell the foul stench of corpses and see the skeletons resting in the corners of the cave. 

“What do you think this place was before?” Josie whispers in awe. 

“I think we’re in the mines of Moria,” Lizzie states. 

“What?” Josie and Hope turn to look at Lizzie with confusion. 

Lizzie pouts. “I wish MG was here.” 

“We need to keep moving and find a way out of this cave before the lion catches up,” Hope says.

Lizzie and Josie nod in agreement as Hope leads them through the long halls of a ruined kingdom. They cautiously move through the ruins, their feet moving at a brisk pace and their eyes alert. 

Hope feels the hair on the back of her neck raise in fear as they go deeper into the unknown, her wolf agitated and restless. Earlier this day she was in serene contentment, painting the afternoon away and dancing with Josie in her arms, safe and sound. All Hope wanted was one day free of danger and carnivorous monsters. One day where she could pretend the world wasn’t actively trying to take everything she loved away. But now, they’re in danger once more and in another game by a cruel god trying to kill Josie.

The moment they escape this cave, Hope is screaming at the gods and demand them to end this asinine and sadistic game. She wants a face-off with this mighty god that puppeteers the game and Hope is ready to throw fists. If Hope has to sacrifice her soul to keep Josie safe, she will. 

As they continue down the magnificent ruins, Hope thinks she sees a shadowy figure following them. She thinks her eyes see the shadows moving as if they have a mind of their own—as if they are about to walk into the light and strike at Hope. 

But all Hope sees are more skeletons in the corner and the shadows of her, Lizzie, and Josie. Hope shakes her thoughts away, not letting the ominous air of these caves get to her. 

Only scary tales told to children speak of slithering shadows, Hope tries to convince herself. She continues to lead them, and Hope swallows the fear down her throat—Hope needs to remain strong enough to protect them all. Hope refuses to let fear of whatever beasts hidden in the mountain's belly overwhelm her.

She isn’t scared.

(She is absolutely terrified.) 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! So next chapter will be out shortly after I edit it some more and take a long nap, haha. 
> 
> Suggested songs for this chapter: 
> 
> Waking up Slow (Piano version) - Gabrielle Aplin  
> This - Ed Sheeran  
> Ghost of You - 5 Seconds of Summer


	9. Part II : Souls Divided

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the last chapter for Part II! Thanks for sticking with me this far <3 Enjoy!

Hope, Lizzie, and Josie come to a stop in front of a giant red door covered in vines and a myriad of flowers adorning them—carnations, daffodils, lilies, roses, and more. The three of them collectively try to push the door open, but it remains unmoved. 

“Lizzie,” Hope calls the blonde and holds out her hand. Both of them chant to spell the flowers away, but nothing happens. When Lizzie whispers _incendia,_ flames burst against the door and then instantly dies upon touching the petals. 

“It must have some sort of magic barrier protecting it,” Josie surmises. 

“Lizzie, can you siphon the magic?” 

The siphoner nods and moves towards the door, its enormous size making her look like a mouse in comparison. Lizzie places her hand on the door against the prickling green leaves and siphons the magic as her hand glows a bright red. Lizzie is wincing in pain and Hope expects the flowers to wilt and the door creak open, but Lizzie is flung backwards instead. 

Lizzie flies behind them and crashes roughly against the marbled floor. Josie and Hope run towards her in concern.

The blonde is groaning in pain as she sits up. “Stupid fucking door,” Lizzie curses. 

“Did you siphon any magic?” Hope asks. 

“Loads of it before it repelled me,” Lizzie screams at the door, her voice echoing through the caves. “Whatever I sipohned doesn’t matter, though. The magical barrier instantly regenerates and rejects my magic. Hence, rejecting me across the cave.”

“Do you think you can try again? Maybe I can try a spell while you siphon it away?” 

Lizzie shakes her head. “I don’t think I can siphon that much again. There’s too much magic there, and I already feel like I’ve been ran over by a hoard of elephants.” 

When Hope turns to Josie for suggestions, she sees Josie inspecting the web of flowers. To her and Lizzie’s surprise, the flowers bloom fully under Josie’s touch and glow miraculously bright. The fiery golden glow of the flowers is so bright that Hope’s luminous ball dissipates as the room shines like the rising sun. Josie’s eyes and hand emanated rays of light, the young goddess pulling the magic from the flowers. 

The vines recede, and the flowers wilt onto the floor. Now only a barren red door with no magical boundary, the door creaks open and the cave rumbles. 

“D-did she basically just siphon all that magic?” Lizzie stammers and looks at Hope. “Is she a witch like us?” 

Hope sees Josie’s knees buckle, and she rushes forward to catch her. “Easy there,” she coos. “I got you.” 

When Josie comes to, amber-gold eyes returning to warm brown, she winces in pain and groans. “I feel like I have a terrible hangover.” 

Lizzie steps in and takes Josie from Hope’s arms. “Because that’s what happens when you siphon too much magic all at once. Josie, are you a siphoner?” 

Josie looks between Lizzie and Hope, confusion coloring her face. “I—er, I don’t think so?” 

“You must be. You are,” Lizzie says with conviction. “But if you’re a siphoner, why can I pull magic from you—powerful magic, too.” 

“I don’t know if I’m a siphoner…” Josie takes a deep breath. “But I am a goddess.” 

“Josie, let’s not get egotistical now.”

Hope rolls her eyes. “Lizzie, she’s a literal goddess like from mythology.” 

“What are you two talking about? Gods don’t exist.” 

“Don’t you remember the first night we saw, Josie? Think back to the night she saved us.” 

“Josie was glowing like a star, had wings like a butterfly, and—by Gods, MG was right.” Lizzie stares wide-eyed at Josie. “You’re an Eternal.” 

“A what?” Josie baffles.

Hope drags her palm across her face in frustration. “No, not this again. Enough with that damn comic reference.” They hear the lion roaring again, its resounding roar closer than before. “We can discuss this after we get out without being mauled by another monster from Greek myth.” 

Past the door red doors, they find a garden hidden magically teeming with vibrant, rich life. Bright pink cherry blossom vines hang from the high ceiling, their pink petals emanating a fluorescent glow. 

“This place gets more and more magical the further we go in,” Josie notes in awe. 

The cave walls are covered in vibrant green moss with tiny white, purple, and red flowers blooming from them—a strange phenomenon as not a single source of natural sunlight is permeating through. As they tread further inside the garden, they pass by circular ponds also filled with flowers floating on the surface. 

When they reach the edge of the garden, the three of them come across a stone bridge that connects to the other side of the cave. A long pathway over a treacherous fall into the rapid waters below. Leaning over the edge, Hope sees an endless stretch of aqua blue waters with a rainbow of flowers floating along its tides. Flower bulbs glow white against the water, floating like jellyfish shimmering in the depths of the sea. Despite the airy magical quality around them, the steep drop and pointed stalagmites reminds Hope to remain alert. The bridge has no railing, and Hope is skeptical of its structural integrity as she taps her foot against it experimentally and she hears pebbles splashing into the waters below.

“That’s a dangerous drop,” Lizzie shrieks. “We must be 15 stories high.” 

“We’re going to have to cross it.” Hope feels her palms already sweating at the thought of crossing. She really, really hates heights. 

Hope takes a deep breath, eyes steady on the other side, and steps onto the bridge. With every crush against the gravel, she grows a little more confident in her strides. Lizzie is behind her, tugging tightly on her jacket, and Josie is at the end ambling, fascinated by the flowers beneath them. 

Suddenly, the mountain is quaking and the cave ceiling is loosening as chunks of debris drops on them. Stalactites fall, sending more shock waves into the bridge’s unstable structure. The mountain shakes madly with each step, and a deafening thunderous roar breaks through as the Nemean lion comes crashing behind them.

“That’s one angry looking feline,” Lizzie wisecracks as the three of them freeze at its furious fangs.

Shaking the debris from its impenetrable gold fur, the beast’s red eyes lasers in on Hope. The monster makes a predatory slow march towards them, its growls rumbling in the air as it prepares to pounce.

The lion beats its paws against the rocky bridge, the force of it causing the three of them to lose balance and nearly fall into the furious waters below. Hope places herself in front of Josie and Lizzie, hands out protectively, and mutters: “ _Motus._ ”

But all that comes out of her hand is a fizzling spark of magic. Hope utters those words again, but the results are the same. Lizzie shoves Hope aside and growls a different incantation, expecting to be the exception when the results yield the same.

“What the hell?”

As if understanding their magical dilemma, the lion throws its head back and roars—it’s booming bellow mocking Lizzie and Hope’s dud magic.

“Our magic is being blocked,” Hope reveals frightfully. “Josie, how do we kill a Nemean Lion?” 

“You can’t.” The three of them are walking backwards in tandem, not making any startling movements that would further escalate the situation. “Its golden fur is impervious to mortal weapons and magic, according to legends. The only thing that can kill it is a weapon forged by the God Hephaestus.”

“So we’re fucked,” Lizzie cries unhelpfully. 

Then the Nemean lion makes it move as it lunges towards them, swiping its gargantuan paw at Hope. “Get to the other side, quick!”

They run to the other side and Hope hears the telltale signs of the bridge coming undone; if they get to the other side in time, this could work to their advantage. But if they don’t move fast enough, then they’ll be swimming against the harsh tides with the beast in tow.

Halfway across, Hope is sent to the ground at the violent sting from the lion’s razored claws.

“Hope!” Josie hollers.

Hope is under the belly of the beast, her back burning as the wound remains fresh and unhealing, and she is struggling to think of a solution out of this. The lion salivates on top of Hope, snapping its teeth at her, and Hope can hear Josie screaming at her to move.

Then Hope notices a burning vibration in her pockets and stupidly she remembers: _the gold pen!_

Hope pulls out the pen and clicks it. The golden pen transforms into a golden metallic spear, and Hope uses the staff to block the wide berth of the beast’s mouth from biting her head off. It snarls and growls at Hope, trying to swing its paws at her while gnawing at the spear jamming its mouth. Then there’s a loud _thump_ as Hope sees a brick-sized stone hitting the lion in the face, making the beast loosen its aggressive grip on the spear. She looks back to see Josie and Lizzie flinging fallen debris at the beast, aiding Hope as the beast whines annoyingly at Josie and Lizzie’s assaults. Taking advantage of the distraction, Hope ground her boots into the lion’s core and forcefully pushes the beast onto its back, giving Hope enough time to scramble back to her feet.

“Josie, Lizzie, get to the other side. Now,” she orders, leaving no room for arguments.

Hope twirls the spear in her hands and lunges the tip at the beast, grazing its golden fur as it howls backwards. The beast growls, crouching down menacingly as it licks its teeth. It sways its long tail over the edge of the bridge, raises its hinds, and then leaps right over Hope.

She sees the large stretch of the beast pouncing over her; the lion heading towards Josie instead. Upon its landing, the beast whips its steeled tail at Hope and sends her falling over the bridge. Hope’s fingers grip the edge of the bridge, holding her from getting impaled by the stalagmites or her mortal bones crushed against the rapid current. Beads form on her forehead, and Hope hears the cries of Josie and Lizzie. Her bones are weary and she can feel the blood from the claw marks on her back still dripping with freshness—without her supernatural abilities, Hope isn’t sure how much more fight she has in her.

But at the sound of Josie crying out her name, Hope musters up the energy and grips the edge with all her strength as she lifts herself up. She heaves herself back on to the bridge, panting harshly as her eyes squint to see Josie fighting off the beast with her own bare fists. Getting on her feet, she teeters slightly with how unstable the bridge has become with its structure unraveling. Hope has to dive to the side and avoid the hazardous blocks falling down on them.

“Jo, watch out!” Hope eyes snap up at the terror in Lizzie’s voice and sees the blonde pushing Josie away as a large stone comes crashing down and smashes Lizzie on the head. Lizzie is laying face down unconscious, and Hope can see blonde hair matted with red. Josie is hovering over Lizzie protectively, the lion stomping towards Josie with hunger.

“Josie, catch!” Hope tosses the golden spear in the air, it arching over the Nemean lion and spiraling into Josie’s hand. Josie catches it effortlessly, spinning it in her hand as she crouches down in pose.

Josie ducks another swing, twists left, and dives the spear into the beast’s hind. The golden tip punctures the lion’s formidable skin, pushing deep into its leg as it staggers back in pain.

It roars in agony and the cave shakes, stalactites falling and the bridge coming undone. “Hope! Get Lizzie to safety!”

Josie knocks the beast’s jaw with the end of the staff, causing the beast to stagger and give Hope an opening to dive past. Hope runs to Lizzie, and gapes in concern at the puddle of blood staining the stone from Lizzie’s open wound. She gathers the blonde in her arms, carrying her quickly off the deteriorating bridge. Setting Lizzie down, Hope watches tensely as Josie continues to fend off the lion.

The young goddess lunges with the spear again and penetrates the lion’s core, thrusting in deep as the beast howls in pain. The lion weakly staggers on its paws before falling over the edge, splashing into waters far below and getting washed away by the rapid tides. Hope hollers in excitement, fist-pumping in the air victoriously. 

Josie is running back to her when the entire mountain judders, the entire structure of the bridge crumbling apart. Hope is screaming at Josie to run, terrified at how fast the bridge is disintegrating. She watches in horror as the section of the bridge that connects to where Hope is standing securely disassembles and falls into the waters.

“Josie, jump!”

The young goddess is sprinting faster as she approaches the edge and rockets forward full speed as she leaps. With her heart racing, Hope makes a silent prayer to the gods as Josie leaps into the air with her long legs stretched out wide to propel her closer to landing. Hope stretches her arm out to grab onto Josie—desperate to bring the young goddess back safely in her arms—but Josie is too far to reach. Their fingers are inches apart, a ghost of a touch between them, as Josie falls before Hope’s eyes.

“No!” Hope drops to her knees, leaning over the edge with her stomach in knots and heart trembling. Her eyes fearfully scour the waters below them, skimming fretfully past the pointed stalagmites for a floating body.

“Hope!” Hope sputters in relief at Josie’s voice. She looks around below her to search for the brunette, but Hope’s watery eyes cannot locate her. Then, over the sound of water crashing against the cave walls below, Hope hears a faint humming above her. 

Looking above her, Hope stuns at Josie high above her with her fluttering wings keeping her afloat. Josie is swaying clumsily in the air, the young goddess still new to navigating the art of flying. 

“Josie, come down before you get hurt.” Hope chews on her lip, uneasy at Josie high from safe ground. 

She takes a step back as Josie flops down to her, her feet roughly landing and teetering on the edge. Josie’s wings _poof_ away and Hope has to pull the fumbling goddess from the edge and into her arms. When the young goddess pulls back, her ecstatic smile nearly blinds Hope. 

“I can’t believe I just did that!” Josie squeals. “I don’t even know how I did that!” Hope laughs at Josie’s enthusiasm, noting the way brown eyes sparkle gold. “Nice throw by the way,” Josie hands her back the gold pen.

“Nice catch,” Hope compliments and takes the pen, shoving it back in her pocket.

The sound of painful groans calls their attention back to their injured friend who is sitting up and cradling her injured head in pain. 

“Lizzie,” Josie gasps and runs to kneel beside the blonde. 

“Josie, why are there two of you? Why didn’t you tell me you had a twin?” Lizzie slurs weakly. Hope kneels to inspect Lizzie’s wound, a wide gash on her skull from being struck by a robust limestone. The blood is oozing down her forehead and Hope knows if they don’t stitch it together soon the worst will happen. 

“Hope, can’t you give her your blood? Won’t it heal her?” 

Hope shakes her head. “My magic is being blocked here, it won’t work.” The claw marks on her back still alarmingly fresh.

Lizzie leans her head against the wall, blinking wearily at Hope and Josie. “What happened?” she coughs out. 

“You saved me and got hit by a giant rock,” Josie answers. “A stupid thing to do since I’m the immortal one.” 

Lizzie laughs weakly and sighs, “I think I owed you one, anyway.” 

“We need to carry her out of this cave. Once we’re out, my magic will be back and I can take care of the wound.” Hope tries to pull Lizzie’s arms around her shoulders, but the siphoner swats her away. 

“No touching, Mikaelson. Josie called dibs on you,” Lizzie says sleepily. 

“What?” Josie goes beet red, spluttering at Lizzie’s statement. “Lizzie, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“You called dibs on me?” Hope smiles despite the perilous situation on their hands.

“And you…” Lizzie slurs at Hope. “Stop being stupid and just say you like her already.” Josie eyebrows raise and softens at Lizzie’s revelation.

Hope’s amused smile drops, and she goes red. “Lizzie, I think you have a concussion. We need to get you out of here,” she coughs awkwardly. 

“I’m fine,” Lizzie growls. The stubborn blonde tries to stand up, but her knees wobble and Josie catches her before she collapsed. Lizzie leans her head against Josie’s chest, her labor breaths a clear sign of her worsening condition. “Josie, it hurts…” 

Josie cradles Lizzie’s head softly, tears glittering at the edge. “It’s okay, Lizzie. We’ll get you out soon and take care of you. Just hold on.”

At those words, Hope sees Josie’s hand on Lizzie’s wound illuminate like before when she pulled the magic from the gigantic red door. Under the golden glow, Hope watches as the blood pooling from Lizzie’s cut stop and how flesh stitches back together. 

“Josie, your hand.” The young goddess’ watery eyes go wide at the fiery glow of her hand, nearly moving it off the blonde when Hope stops her. “Don’t remove it, you’re healing her wound.” 

They watch in remarkable silence as Lizzie’s wound heals and her breathing pattern goes back to a steady rhythm. But then the glowing stops and Hope still sees the angry festers of the wound, Josie not fully healing it.

“I don’t know why I stopped,” Josie frets. “Will she be okay?” Lizzie’s soft snores, however, ease their worries. 

“She’ll be fine for now, but we should probably let her rest and carry her the rest of the way,” Hope states. “The quicker we get out, the quicker we can get Lizzie the medical attention she needs.”

Josie nods and swats Hope’s arms away from carrying the blonde. “Let me carry her, you’re injured.” Josie throws Lizzie over her shoulders, the siphoner instinctively wrapping her arms around the young goddess.

They move into the dark tunnel carefully, Hope unable to provide a source of light because of her magic still being blocked. 

“I can’t see anything,” Hope huffs, her hand brushing against the rocky walls as she tries to lead them in the dark. She hears Josie curse from stubbing her toe against a stalactite, and the blonde she’s carrying scolding at Josie to stop moving. Hope takes a moment to recall the words from the goddess she met from what seemed like hours ago. “ _In the dark, love will light the path home._ ”

“What?”

“At the boutique there was a new goddess,” Hope begins. “She told me to relay a message to you—”

“There was? Why didn’t I see her?”

“The gods have been forbidden to see or speak to you until we break the spell,” Hope tells. “But that’s not important right now.”

Josie is silent for a moment before asking: “What message did she have for me then?”

“She told me to tell you: _In the dark, love will light the path home,_ ” Hope recites.

“Love will light the path home,” Josie repeats softly. Hope hears Josie whispering the words quietly under her breath repeatedly before suddenly the darkness fades. The tunnel illuminates with an ethereal blue glow, crystals jutting from the cave ceilings lighting up one by one. Their wondrous glow stretches far down the tunnels, guiding them through the dark, twisted caverns. Turning around, Hope sees golden eyes staring up in wonder at the fluorescent blue crystals, a white rose blooming out of Josie’s palm as gold dust trickles up in the air into those opulent blue stones. 

“How are you doing all of this?” Hope flabbergasts at Josie’s continual display of powerful magic.

“I don’t know,” the young goddess replies. “I just thought about—” Josie pauses before whispering, “I thought about home. I thought about Salvatore and all the people who feel like home to me.” Lizzie mumbles sleepily on Josie’s shoulder and the brunette smiles fondly at the blonde. “Lizzie, Alaric, Caroline, MG, and…” Gold eyes set on Hope like the sun, breathtakingly beautiful with a promise of tomorrow. “I thought about you,” her honeyed exhale douses Hope with a saccharine love she’s never tasted before. 

_In the dark, let love light the path home._

In this magical cave of shimmering blue crystals with Josie, Hope is home. Anywhere with Josie, she’s home. Hope swells with a love armored to the battlefield for this girl, and she’ll bear every wound she can just to be with her. 

Hope, overcome with emotions, leans forward. “Josie, I—”

“Not here,” Josie interrupts. Hope can see brown eyes twinkling with stars and rosy lips smiling softly at her. “Tell me when all of this over and Lizzie isn’t wounded and snoring in the background.”

“Okay,” Hope whispers, biting her lips at Josie’s unspoken confession—at the subtle admissions they’ve both brought to light.

Then the lights dim until they fade one by one, nearly plunging them into darkness once again. Hope looks at the flower in Josie’s hand, the white rose wilting as its immortal magic is seeping into the crystals and deep into the limestone walls. 

“We need to hurry before the lights go out or else we’ll never make it out,” Josie rushes out frantically. They run down the tunnel, feet moving to stay in the light and escape the dark. Hope can hear Josie panting behind her, the weight of carrying Lizzie on her back taking a toll on her. At the end of the long tunnel, the blue lights lead them to a dead end where only a statue stands in the middle of this cave dome they’ve stepped into. The statue is of a man with two faces, both gazing at opposing ends of the cave; green thorny vines wrap around the statue and the plaque reads: _The path of light and dark, diverges, converges, and submerges._

“Damn riddles—why can’t we just leave this damn place?” Hope asks irately, claustrophobia from being within these caves starting to cloy at her skin. She sees Josie set Lizzie down gently, the young goddess’ face red from exhaustion. 

Josie walks over to the statute and inspects it. “This is the God Janus,” she reveals. “He’s a Roman God, symbolic for transitions in life and protects the gates and portals to the other side.”

“But this is a dead end. What is he protecting?” 

Josie touches her hand on the statute, accidentally pricking her finger on a thorn as she hisses. Then the stone eyes of Janus glow gold as the cave rumble and slabs of granite shift upward to reveal two entrances to tunnels on opposite ends.

“The path of light and dark diverges… which way will lead us out to the light then?” The flower in Josie’s hand, now a dust of gold, flitters out of her palms and drifts into the cave on the right. 

“I think it’s this way?” Josie walks towards the right entrance, cautiously poking her head in. 

The young goddess is already inside the tunnel, staring up at the flickering blue crystals, when Hope walks to the entrance and hits a barrier that causes her to fumble backwards on her feet. 

“What the hell?” Hope rubs her forehead. She places her hand on the barrier, feeling the strong boundary spell that is blocking her from entering. “Josie, I can’t get in.” Hope slams her fist against the boundary in irritation. Josie is jogging back to her and Hope winces when the brunette hits the invisible barrier, falling down on her ass.

The young goddess stands up and her hand collides against the barrier, unable to push through. “I can’t leave.” 

Hope growls, “Step back.” She rams into the barrier with her shoulder, only for the impact to send shocks through her arm. But Hope rams into it again, desperate to break the barrier that is separating her from Josie. 

“Hope, stop.” But Hope doesn’t listen though and slams her fist against the barrier, and when her fist collides against the barrier it flashes red and sends her flying backwards. “Hope, stop! You’re hurting yourself.” 

“I’m not leaving you in these hellish caves alone,” Hope growls. She screams out a spell, thinking her magic is back, when nothing happens but the sound of her voice echoing against the walls. “I can’t lose you.” Hope slams her hand against the barrier, her voice breaking at their separation. 

Josie places her hand on the barrier, mirroring Hope’s placement. “You won’t lose me,” she assures. “I’ll find a way out, but right now you need to get Lizzie out of here.” Josie looks behind her. “You’ll have to exit through the other tunnel with Lizzie and take care of her wound.” 

Hope grinds her teeth. “How will I know you’ll be safe?” 

“You won’t,” Josie says. “But you have to have faith that I’ll do whatever it takes to get back to you.” 

Hope remembers what the goddess at the boutique told her: _Tread carefully for a void separates one soul from another, in peril one must have unwavering faith in the other._

“All right,” she grits out painfully. “I have faith in you.” Hope remains unmoved as she gazes into strong brown eyes. “Promise you’ll come back?” _Promise you will come home to me._

“Always.” Josie turns around, sending an emotional last look to Hope before running down the tunnel.

Hope watches until she can no longer make out the contours of Josie in the blue lights of the crystal. She bites through the tears, slamming her fist on the barrier one more time and curses this damn cave—this demon that is persistently trying to separate Josie from her.

Dropping her throbbing fist, Hope moves to carry Lizzie on her back and walks over towards the tunnel on the opposite side. She steps through the blue lit tunnel with caution, exhaling tension when she doesn’t collide with an invisible wall.

_The path of light and dark diverges, converges, and submerges._

Hope doesn’t know which is worse: Josie taking the path to darkness without Hope, or Hope taking the path to darkness with no magic and an unconscious, injured Lizzie?

But there’s no turning back now, and Hope inhales deeply as she begins the long journey down the path she’s chosen without Josie.

The crystals remain bright the further Hope navigates her and Lizzie through; Lizzie remains softly snoring and drooling on Hope’s shoulder. Begrudgingly, Hope wishes she could do the same. Hope’s muscles are sore and the cuts on her back still stinging through her white shirt. It feels as if they’ve been in these caves for hours, and exhaustion is quicker now that Hope has no supernatural healing or strength to keep her pushing.

Hope wrinkles her nose and picks up the subtle scent of cool air as a floral scent wafts through the tunnels. She sighs in relief at the thought they’ve finally made it out. Her eyes hone in to a soft light at the end of the tunnel and her ears perk at the sound of rushing waters. Hope musters up the strength to run towards the exit and steps out to see that the tunnels led her to the sinkhole. The hidden entrance closes, blending into the rough edges of the cave walls, and Hope steps onto cool, plush green grass. 

Wildflowers surrounds them and Hope relaxes at the familiar scene, her body comforted that she and Lizzie are safe from the dark forces in the cave. Hope lays Lizzie down lightly, carefully resting her injured head down against the soft ground. She lays next to her, tension leaving her as she stares up at the waning gibbous high above the sinkhole. 

Hope prays up to the moon and stars for the gods to keep Josie safe, to guide the young goddess through the dark path and back to Hope. She frustratedly runs her hands through her hair as she thinks about the peril Josie could be in—the monsters she has to face alone. _It should’ve been me._ But Hope still feels the throb in her hands and the cut on her back; all freshly pulsating with pain as her body still hasn’t healed. Because of this, she knows that in those caves Josie is more capable to survive than Hope. 

A slight chill in the air makes Hope shiver, and she flicks her hand to create a fire; no magic leaves her fingers. Hope blinks and chants the spell again, yet nothing. Shouldn’t her powers be back now that they’ve escaped the cave?

The sound of Lizzie stirring awake alerts Hope and she turns to see the blonde slowly sitting up with groggy eyes.

“Hope?” her voice filled with sleep. “What happened?” Lizzie winces and touches the wound Josie had heal partway, a bump still visible. 

“You saved Josie from having a boulder smashed into her skull and took the beating instead,” Hope reminds the blonde. “But Josie healed as much as she could before we had to keep moving. She carried you most of the way.”

“Where are we?” the blonde stammers confused. “Where’s Josie?” Lizzie says terrified, standing on her wobbly feet. “Why are you not freaking out right now?” 

_I am._ “We got separated, but she’ll make it out.” _She has to._ “We’re safe,” Hope replies and closes her eyes. Nothing can touch them here. Eros had told her all those nights ago that this place was under a protection spell, the same one that kept Josie safe. No demon or monster can enter.

“Are we really?” Lizzie snaps fearfully. “It’s creepy here. It’s like we’ve landed on Morag.” 

“What are you talking about? It’s beautiful—” When Hope opens her eyes she chokes on her words and immediately gets on her feet. The beautiful sinkhole, their salvation, was all but an illusion. Because the place Hope and Lizzie are standing in is grim, with the deadwood trees and thick fog ghosting around their ankles. The ground Hope was lying on is nothing but dead grass with irregular patches of murky, bubbling tar. Wilted flower petals scatter around them instead of the lively ones she had imagined. The moon and stars she had once thought above them are a million narcissus flowers with eyes at the center blinking at Hope and Lizzie. 

“What hellhole did we walk into?” Hope stutters with fear. 

“That’s what I was saying! And I’m the one who got hit with a rock.” 

Then the golden pen in her pocket vibrates as if it called for Hope to use it. Hope digs through her pocket and pulls out the tool, holding it in her palm as it pulsates strongly. She clicks the pen to transform it to the metallic gold spear and braces it in her hands to prepare for any oncoming attacks. 

“Let’s leave. Now.” 

Hope and Lizzie tread carefully through the eerie scene they’ve entered, its size more expansive than the illusion that had befallen Hope upon entering. The eyes continue to blink at them, moving with every step Hope and Lizzie make—tracking Hope and Lizzie’s every move. 

“Gods, this place is fucking creepy,” Lizzie curses. “I hope Josie is in a much better place than we are.” 

_Me too._

They find a tunnel at the end and walk through it, noting the glowing yellow narcissus flowers that emerge from the cracks in the cave. Each one with a glass orb at the center, shining Hope and Lizzie’s reflections throughout the tunnel. 

“It’s like we’re in a house of mirrors or something,” Hope shivers. 

Lizzie hums in contemplation. “Have you ever heard of the origins of the narcissus flower?”

Hope looks at her strangely and shakes her head. “Why?”

“With all these narcissus flowers, I was just reminded of the story I read when I was doing research with MG.” 

“How does it go?” Hope asks as they continue to tread the tunnel of flowers projecting thousands of distorted reflections of them. 

“The tale goes that after Narcissus broke the heart of the nymph Echo, the god Nemesis devised a plot to punish Narcissus for his vanity. She lured him to a lake where Narcissus fell to his knees at the sight of his own reflection. He was so fixated with his beauty that he could not leave for anything—not even for food or water. This was Nemesis’s curse and punishment to Narcissus; because he could only love himself, then he would die by his own vanity. While Nemesis took delight in his pain, the Gods took pity on him and transformed his soul into the beautiful narcissus flower.”

Hope stares up at the narcissus flowers and their distorted reflections, processing Lizzie’s words. “Do you think this cave has anything to do with Narcissus? Is he the one making all of this happen?” 

“I don’t know,” Lizzie confesses. “But these narcissus flower’s aren’t beautiful at all, that’s for sure.”

Upon exiting, they walk into a bleak setting with geysers gushing hot steam into the air. The air is stifling hot and the thick steam erupting from the geysers obscures their visions. Another geyser erupts, suffocating Hope and Lizzie as the air grows unbearable to breathe in.

“Hope,” Lizzie coughs. “It’s hard to breathe in here.” 

“I know, just hang in there.” Through the fog, Hope can see the hazy outlines of another tunnel that would lead them from this suffocating fog. “I see an exit. Follow me,” she wheezes out.

As they tread cautiously through the thick fog, they come across a murky pond that is bubbling hotly. The boiling waters are adding to the insufferable heat and heavy fog; Hope can no longer decipher her surroundings as the steam overwhelms her vision and suddenly the heat intensifies.

_Galen._

Hope freezes at the sound of the name hissed. She hears the name hissed again and Hope peers closer to the pond; the growls emanating from its depths. Hope startles at red eyes flashing hungrily at her from the reflection of the pond, a hand breaking the water and reaching for Hope.

She stumbles back and bumps into Lizzie, the blonde heaving in annoyance at Hope.

“What are you doing, Mikaelson?” Lizzie coughs out.

“There was a hand that—” Hope points the spear at the waters and her words halt when she no longer sees vicious red eyes in them. Then a geyser besides them goes off and Lizzie screams in fright, tightening her grip on Hope. 

“Let’s fucking hurry out of here. I hate this place.” Lizzie whines. They walk at a faster pace, rushing towards the exit and wheezing through every geyser’s burst of hot air. Then a wicked laugh echoes throughout the dome, and Hope sees a blur running past them and halts immediately. 

_“Hope.”_ A sinister voice hisses her name. 

“Who the fuck is that?” Lizzie screeches and immediately cowers behind Hope. 

“Who’s there?” 

_“I’ve haunted you in your dreams and you’ve received help from spineless Gods, yet you still do not know who I am?”_

Hope's mind scours through her nightmares, obsidian eyes devouring her like the endless pit of a black hole consuming anything that comes near its gravitational pull. She thinks of bat-like wings and pale face rabidly biting into the beating heart of a young mage. 

_“Let me repeat my riddle then: Man who has been scorned call my name for divine retribution, their contemptuous blood soak my dagger for a vengeful execution.”_

Hope gets in an offensive position, the metallic spear pointed and ready to stab the demon that is circling them.

The demon roars viciously. _“Who am I?”_

“I don’t care who you are,” Hope growls. “Show yourself!”

_“Who am I?”_ the demon demands again.

“Nemesis,” Hope turns at Lizzie’s words. Lizzie stares at her with fright. “The Goddess of Vengeance, Nemesis.” 

At that moment, the fog separates and the terrifying demon that’s been haunting her—Nemesis—steps through with a sinister smile. 

“ _A smart one you are, little siphoner._ ” Nemesis stands tall in front of them in a black dress that splits at the calves. Her long black hair with streaks of silver in them drapes down her bare shoulders and slinks along the ground as she circles Hope and Lizzie. 

“What do you want?” Hope stands protectively in front of Lizzie. 

_“You know what I want,”_ Nemesis seethes. “ _I want the soul that is owed to me.”_

“I will never let you take Josie.” Hope growls and points the tip of the blade at Nemesis. 

“What do you want with Josie?” Lizzie eyes flare angrily and digs her nails into Hope’s arm so hard that Hope can feel them through her leather jacket. 

Nemesis cackles again and then moves at lightening speed as talons wrap around Hope’s throat and lifts her off the ground. The gold spear rattles on the ground as Hope's hands beat against Nemesis’ chokehold.

_“Josette cheated me and changed the rule of the games,”_ Nemesis snarls. _“I will make her suffer for it for all of eternity by taking the soul she cherishes the most.”_ Then Nemesis digs her claws into Hope and Hope lets out a blood-curling scream at the searing pain of sharp razors twisting inside her. 

“Hope!” Lizzie screams in panic. The blonde thrashes against Nemesis, punching and clawing at Nemesis to let go of Hope. But Nemesis does not budge. But then Lizzie grabs the spear and plunges its blade into the Nemesis’s side, causing the evil goddess to howl in pain and throw Hope to the ground.

_“Damn, witch!”_ Nemesis howls in pain and grabs onto the spear, pulling it out and then slapping Lizzie forcefully that the blonde drops to the ground clutching her cheek. Nemesis hovers the spear in the air, ready to impale Lizzie with its burning blade.

“Lizzie, run!” Hope gasps out and scrambles on to her feet to stop Nemesis. Lizzie is scrambling backwards when Nemesis swings the blade down and Hope is running to save Lizzie when suddenly a fiery light explodes throughout the cave. The blinding light causes Nemesis to howl in pain, clattering the spear to drop from her hands. Hope squints through the fiery light and dives to catch it, but the spear bursts into golden specks in her hand.

Hope looks towards Lizzie, and sees that the source of the light is emanating from Lizzie’s necklace, a hot white radiance beaming from its core. Lizzie mouth is wide-open, shocked and confused at the powerful magic beaming from her pendant.

Nemesis is covering their eyes in pain, howling madly and staggering backwards. Hope sees the opportunity and scrambles to her feet and grabs onto Lizzies’s elbow.

“Let’s go, now!”

Hope and Lizzie run through the thick fog, the light beaming from Lizzie’s necklace guiding them to the tunnel Hope had seen earlier. They rush through tunnel, gliding along its slippery path, and Hope hears Nemesis screaming Hope’s name with fury. 

Exiting the tunnel, Hope and Lizzie come to a screeching halt as they are standing at a cliff’s edge. Below them are violent dark waters, currents raging and clashing against one another to create a gaping hole—a whirlpool so terrifyingly vast that it could consume a hundred ships and still be hungry for more. 

“We’re going to die!” Lizzie shrieks. 

Far across the voracious vortex Hope sees Josie standing on a cliff’s edge as well, gaping at them with fear. 

“Josie!” Hope screams. 

“Hope! Lizzie! Hold on!” Josie screams back, frantically searching for a way to reach them. But then Josie drops to her knees and Hope sees roots breaking through the ground and wrapping around Josie’s throat, suffocating her. Lizzie cries out to Josie, watching as Josie fights against the magical roots that are choking her. 

Then Hope is thrown to the ground, and she sees Nemesis flying through, ripping the necklace off of Lizzie and tossing the glowing pendant into the whirlpool. At the sound of agonizing growls that reverberate from the mountain to its core, Hope fears what is waiting at the bottom of the vortex. 

Nemesis grabs Lizzie by her throat and holds her body over the edge, dangling Lizzie over the whirlpool. 

_“Are you watching, Josette? Watch as I take everything you love away! This is the price you pay for swindling me!”_

Hope gets to her feet, rushing to grab Lizzie and save her. But Nemesis grabs her by the throat and holds her down. Hope watches in devastation as Nemesis tosses Lizzie off the edge, her friend plummeting down the raging water and into the hell-mouth. She hears Lizzie’s terrified screams that break Hope, but the sound of Josie’s piercing wails burns her more. 

“You bitch,” Hope spits out. “It should’ve been me. You should’ve thrown me!” 

The vengeful and cruel goddess snickers. _“Do not fret, Hope. You are next.”_ Nemesis hangs Hope over the edge and plunges her talons deep in to Hope’s core again, grasping at her insides. 

_“I will take what was owed to me and then you will suffer an immortal life of pain, Josette! You will wish you never became a god! You will never be whole again!”_

Hope is coughing out blood as her vision becomes spotty and she convulses under the searing pain of her insides being ripped apart. She is shifting in and out of consciousness, her head lolling from side to side. Hazy, beautiful images flash through her mind—all of Josie. Images of dancing with Josie and Josie’s brown eyes dotted with gold. 

With her last breath, she whispers: “Josie.” 

* * *

“Promise you’ll come back?” Hope’s blue eyes glaze even brighter under the glow of the blue crystals, and Josie holds on to them as long as she can. Josie hates the sadness and fear she sees in them—she hates that she must turn away from them. 

Just like Hope, Josie wants to break down this barrier that separates them. She wants to beat her fist against it over and over, but she needs to keep level-headed, calm. If Hope sees the fear in her eyes, the quiver in her voice, the tribrid won’t leave to get her and Lizzie to safety. 

Josie stands tall, mustering the courage she tapped into when fighting the Nemean lion, and stares resolutely into her favorite blue eyes and answers: “Always.”

_I’ll always come home to you._

Three words are on the tip of her tongue, words that Josie wants to say to Hope before they part. Three words that have weighed on her heart since the moment she laid eyes on Hope across the room when she woke up in the infirmary. But Hope doesn’t deserve to hear those three words like this—not here with the barrier separating them and the unknown constantly shrouding them. 

Instead, with a deep breath, Josie turns around and walks away from Hope. Josie will escape this underground labyrinth, and she’ll find Hope and Lizzie on the other side—safe and sound. Then, she’ll say those three words to Hope. 

Curse be damned. Prophecy be damned. 

Josie knows that Hope is her soulmate—it is impossible for it to be anyone else. All Josie feels and sees is Hope. And if the prophecy deems that it is someone else—well, frankly, Josie will tell them and the Fates to go drown in the River of Styx. 

Josie only wants Hope. All she’ll ever want is Hope, and her soul knows it. 

Continuing down the winding tunnel, Josie comes to the end when she stops in front of a white door covered in red roses. She places her hand against the door and feels it brimming with powerful magic. Earlier, when Josie opened the giant red door, Lizzie had called her a siphoner. Those words rang a familiar note in Josie’s mind despite the knowledge of her being a goddess. But as she inhales deeply and pulls the magic from the door, Josie thinks it may be true—that she may be some sort of hybrid. 

The roses on the door shrivel and Josie creaks the door open, her heart racing as she cautiously steps in. Josie gasps at the ethereal scene that she steps into:

A towering tree, as large as the mountain, stands in the center of a field of tall lush green grass. The rich brown winding bark stretches up to the cave ceiling where a cavity in the mountain gives way to the starry night and beautiful moonlight. Instead of vibrant green leaves, the enchanting tree is covered in flowers—a vibrant and breathing bouquet with their petals flittering down to the ground. A single white rose petal falls into Josie’s palm and when she looks back up, she sees a yellow ball of light flying down to her: the fairy. 

The fairy that caused all of this trouble in the first place, from sending Josie on a game of chase through the woods to making Josie foolishly follow them into these dangerous caves. They land on Josie’s palm on top of the rose petal, smiling a dubiously innocent smile at Josie. 

“You are a troublemaker, aren’t you?” The fairy shrugs their shoulder and blows a kiss to Josie. “Tell me there is something here that made me following you worth it?” Bony, little hands pull at Josie’s finger, tugging her deeper into this magical place. As she lets the fairy guide her, they bring her closer to the massive flower tree. Josie finally understands the perspective ants must have as she cranes her neck far back to stare up at the endless stretch of the tree. The fairy tugs Josie’s hand to the tree, her hand feeling the cool tree bark and the magnificent power it holds. 

When Josie pulls the magic from it, she sees her hand glowing gold and an insignia appearing on the tree—a Greek symbol she can’t decipher. Josie startles at the sight of an opening at the center of the tree opening, a waft of honey drifting to her nose. The fairy then flies through the entrance and inside the tree, poking their head and waiting for Josie to follow. 

Josie steps inside, her eyes taking in another beauty in front of her. At the heart of the tree is a white rose in a glass case, the flower is resting on a tall tree stump within the tree. She approaches the encased rose, her breath in awe of the golden glow it illuminates, and she ghosts her hands over the glass. The fairy is giggling in glee above her, zipping energetically around Josie. 

The white rose is in perfect bloom, its golden glow from a thousand stars that are speckled across its plush petals. 

“It’s so beautiful,” Josie notes. The fairy nods and then knocks their knuckles against the glass. “You want me to open it?” 

The fairy nods. 

Josie tentatively lifts the case and sets it aside, watching in amazement as the rose blooms even wider. She looks at her fairy guide on what to do next, and they motion for Josie to cup the flower in her hand and drink it. 

“Drink it?” Josie peers closer at the rose to see a gold liquid pooling at the center. “What will happen if I do?” 

The fairy shrugs and smirks knowing at Josie. 

“Your mischievous smirk does not make me eager to do as you say.” The fairy huffs dramatically and pushes the flower to Josie. “All right, all right.” 

Josie cups the flower in her hand, inhaling the scent of rose and honey, and brings velvety petals to her lips as she tips the liquid down her throat. A savory taste of honey and berries coats her taste buds, and suddenly images pass through Josie. 

Images of all these faces she doesn’t know, yet her heart screams that she does. A man with flowing red hair and icy blue eyes, a girl with hazel eyes and freckles, another with olive skin and grey eyes, and so many more. Josie can’t fathom what is being passed through her mind, what this flower juice is showing her, until striking blue eyes she’s grown to love in the past few weeks hold her breathless—Hope. 

But as images of Hope flash through her mind, familiar and some oddly unfamiliar ones, ends as she hears Lizzie’s blood-curdling scream. Josie drops the white rose on the ground, much to her fairy’s dissatisfaction, and runs out of the magical tree to hear the clear shrieks of Hope and Lizzie. 

_‘Run!’_

Josie turns at the sound of a husky voice screaming at her, but sees no one. At the sound of Lizzie crying, Josie doesn’t stop to contemplate it. She sees another tunnel breaking open at the other side of the cave, and she sprints towards it. The sound of Lizzie and Hope screaming grows louder as she jumps over roots and zigzags between stalagmites. Josie moves faster and faster, trying to rush to save the two people that have made a home in her heart. She skids to a stop when she exits the tunnel, teetering on the edge of a cliff. 

Staring down below her is a hundred feet drop into angry currents and a menacing abyss of a whirlpool. Looking across from her, she sees Lizzie and Hope standing on a cliff’s edge similar to her. Blue eyes find her, and Hope’s terrifying call for her name fills Josie with dread.

“Hope! Lizzie! Hold on!” she calls out to them. “I’ll save you. I have to,” Josie whispers to herself. 

But how? Josie’s powers are triggered for reasons she doesn’t quite know. If she were to take the chance and jump, it would be a 50/50 chance of her wings popping out to save her before she gets thrown into the hell-mouth beneath this mountain. 

“A leap of faith, I just need to—” Josie chokes on her words as roots wrap around her throat and suffocate her. They’ve emerged from the cave walls, cracking the limestones to escape and strangle Josie. She’s squinting through one eye in pain, and she sees a demonic woman with bat-like wings holding Lizzie by the throat over the edge. 

The woman sneers at Josie, her obsidian eyes piercing at her. _“Are you watching, Josette? Watch as I take everything you love away! This is the price you pay for swindling me!”_

Josie struggles against the roots tightening around her throat, not understanding what’s she’s done to the cruel and vindictive demon that is trying to kill Lizzie and Hope. Josie watches in fear as Hope tries to stop the demon before she’s put into a similar chokehold as Lizzie. 

Josie is gasping for air and trying to think of a way to escape—a way to save Lizzie and Hope. Then Josie sees her golden fairy fluttering towards her, pulling at the roots wrapped around her throat and shrieking at Josie.

_‘Necklace! Necklace!’_

Josie realizes the husky feminine voice is coming from the fairy, the fairy’s voice strikingly clear to Josie despite the bubbly squeaks coming out their mouth.

_‘Necklace! Break!’_

“Wh-at?” Josie groans in pain as the roots tighten. The fairy shrieks those words again, and Josie looks down at the light glowing from her necklace. _Break the necklace?_

Unquestioning her fairy guide, Josie struggles against the roots, one hand gripping the sentient plant and the other grasping onto the white rose pendant. Her fairy helps by fluttering in front of Josie and ripping the necklace from her neck. They hold it out to Josie and Josie stares at the flickering gem in the middle and the ethereal glow emanating from it. The pendant falls into Josie’s hand and the fair screams: ' _Break!’_

And Josie pounds her necklace against the hard, rocky surface. Josie beats the pendant against the rock repeatedly and hears it shattering under Josie’s relentless force—nothing happens. Nothing changes. 

“Lizzie!” Josie's eyes lift at Hope’s choked scream, and her heart rips apart at the sight of Lizzie falling down into the mouth to hell. Fury consumes her and Josie rips the roots from her neck with newfound strength. The sight of Lizzie plummeting makes Josie scream in agony, her entire being quaking with anger and heart shredding to pieces as she watches Lizzie fall and fall.

“You bitch!” She hears Hope’s broken curse at the demon. “It should’ve been me. You should’ve thrown me!” 

_“I will take what was owed to me and then you will suffer an immortal life of pain, Josette! You will wish you never became a god! You will never be whole again!”_

Then Josie sees Hope dangling from the edge now too, the beastly woman snickering, and she hears Hope whisper her name with her last breath: 

“Josie…” 

And Josie thinks this will be the final blow to her heart and she won’t survive this heartbreak—she can’t bear to live a life without Hope or Lizzie. But then, a miracle happens. Specks of gold float around her like pieces of a fallen star. She hears the joyous giggle from the fairy, and then Josie notices that time has frozen.

Josie sees Lizzie still suspended in the air, no longer falling, and sees Hope’s dangling legs swinging until they freeze—stiff midair. Suddenly a burning pain sears in her left hand and Josie holds it up to see the pendant cracked with light leaking through it. 

That beaming light shines into her eyes and the gaps in Josie’s mind are finally filled with beautiful, beautiful memories: 

Josie sees her and Lizzie at five years old, running and giggling down the expansive and empty halls of the beginning stages of Salvatore. Josie sees them fighting, laughing, and cuddling—Josie remembers her twin, her best friend.

She sees herself sitting on Alaric’s lap—her dad’s lap at seven as he reads magical fairy tales until she falls asleep in his arms. Then there’s Caroline—her beautiful and vibrant mom. Josie sees herself in the kitchen with her mom, making breakfast together and singing to broadway tunes on the speaker. She sees both of them laughing with tears in their eyes as a tired Lizzie enters with an unruly bed hair look.

Josie remembers MG’s smitten look at Lizzie throughout the years that changed from a shy crush to a bold, unwavering love. She sees MG and her reading comics together in the pillow fort they constructed and then playing pranks on Lizzie just to make her squeal. She remembers his warm smile that lights the cloudiest of days at Salvatore.

Josie sees them all in bright flashes. She sees herself arguing with Kaleb over council issues, a two-minute crush with Rafael that turned to the beginning of a long friendship, and the misguided love and kinship she had with Landon. 

But most of all, Josie remembers all that is Hope. She sees the moment Hope stepped into Salvatore with her mom and how instantly taken she was with the girl. She remembers waking up early to secretly watch Hope and her dad spar together and then sneak back to her bed to avoid Lizzie’s suspicion. Josie remembers the damn love note she wrote to Hope, a saccharine cheesy note that that detailed every little thing she loved about the tribrid—ending the note off with a sloppy four-stanza poem and two boxes for Hope to check. 

Josie remembers all the silent years, distant looks, festering emotions and agonizing pining she had for Hope. She remembers that love that burned so hot that she that she would turn to ashes from how all-consuming it was, but instead Josie remembers the curse that overtook her—the Hanahaki disease that was meant to kill her because her love was unrequited. 

Now, in this frozen moment, Josie sees all that was and all that will be now that she remembers. Now that she remembers how she became a god. Now that she remembers how Hope Mikaelson is her soulmate—her always and forever. 

Time starts again and Josie sees Hope dangling for her life—Nemesis cackling like the evil villain she is—and Josie’s entire being inflames. Josie materializes her bow and arrow—a gift blessed by Artemis and forged by Hephaestus—and pulls the drawstring, aiming the silver tip at Nemesis. The corrupted goddess throws her head back and cackles some more, allowing Josie to narrow in on a particular juncture of Nemesis’ throat. Josie flicks her finger and sends the arrow flying across at immense speed and watches in satisfaction as it pierces Nemesis’ vocal cords. The high-pitch laughter stops as the vengeance goddess chokes on her gold splotchy black blood.

Nemesis, gagging, releases Hope from her vice grip and Hope spirals down. Dematerializing her bow and arrow, Josie swan dives to catch her. Her bones shifting under skin as wings break through and gives her traction as she navigates to catch Hope. 

Pulling Hope into her arms, the crushing pain on Josie’s soul eases immensely. It has felt like it’s been ages since she held Hope. 

“Josie?” Hope chatters weakly. 

Josie shushes her softly. “You’re safe. I’m here now.” 

“Lizzie…” 

“I know. I’ll save her in time,” Josie pledges. “Rest, Hope. I got you, now.” She hears Hope sigh against her neck, her soulmate relaxing in her arms and succumbing to exhaustion. 

Josie zooms down the whirlpool—the treacherous pit to Tartarus—and sees Lizzie’s unconscious body falling. She picks up the speed and stretches her arms, reaching to grab onto Lizzie before a feral beast or begrudged Titan tries to devour her sister. 

At the sound of a beastly growl, Josie pushes as fast as she can. Her fingers brush against Lizzie’s fingertips, and Josie’s eyes widen at the sight of a grubby, sore-infested hand reaching from the depths of the whirlpool. Josie clasps onto Lizzie’s wrist in time before it grabbed her and pulls her twin up. 

Josie lifts Lizzie into her arm, swerving upwards as she flies with the two pieces of her heart and leaves the retched scent of Tartarus. Josie hears Nemesis scream her name as she emerges from the hell-mouth and zooms towards the path where the magical tree stood. Instead of stopping there, Josie ascends into the opening in the cave and soars into the cool night sky. She stares at the moon and all of Mystic Falls with glistening eyes— _I’m home_. With Hope and Lizzie safely in her arms, Josie is home. 

Josie heads towards the sinkhole where this all started. She knows if she were to fly to Salvatore there would be too much noise and emotions that will overload her. All Josie wants is peace and quiet to recollect. It’s been months since she’s been home.

Dipping into the sinkhole, expertly swerving by the jagged rocks and branches, Josie lands them safely on the ground. The sinkhole is remarkably the same, teeming with wildflowers and even more so with white roses. She lays Lizzie and Hope down gently, finally letting herself breathe at their steady heartbeats now they are all safe from Nemesis and the cryptic caves. 

Josie kneels down to inspect the wounds on Lizzie’s head, touching her twin gently and healing the wound now that she has full access to her powers. She notes Lizzie shivering and Josie peels off her gray coat and covers her sister with it. Lizzie instantly stops shivering and snuggles into Josie’s coat to resume her peaceful slumber.

“Josie?” 

Josie eyes flicker at the sound of Hope’s sleepy voice calling out her name—the sweetest sound that graces Josie’s soul. She flutters over to Hope, watching the stubborn tribrid who is trying to sit up. 

“Don’t move, you’re hurt.” Josie’s voice reprimands in her goddess tone. Hope watches her with tired blue eyes. Josie ignores the questions burning in them and instead focuses on healing the tear Nemesis left in trying to extract Hope’s soul. She places her hand on Hope’s core, her hand glowing gold as she heals the damaged tissues.

“You broke the necklace,” Hope observes. She touches Josie’s skin, tracing the spot where her necklace used to be. Josie shudders at Hope’s fingers dragging against her collarbone. “Eros came to me that night at the Old Mill, she told me what would happen if you broke it.”

Josie pauses at the name of the Goddess of Love, and Josie wonders just how much her fellow goddesses have been guiding her and Hope this whole time.

“Are you in pain?” Hope asks quietly, fearfully.

Josie chuckles at the familiar habit that Hope still retains—the tribrid always concerned about the pain of others first, despite being the one injured. 

“What?” 

“You ask me if I’m in pain as I’m literally healing the gaping wound on you made by a vengeful god.” 

Hope chuckles before grimacing in pain at her stomach muscles contracting. 

“You know what I’m asking,” Hope pushes. “Eros said once the spell is broken, you would be in pain akin to dying.” 

Josie nods. That pain is there, but it’s a low buzzing that is manageable thanks to the potion she ingested earlier. The fairies, and most likely at the behest of Anteros and Psyche, made her amnesiac self drink a powerful concoction of ambrosia to numb the pain of her soul being ripped apart, regenerated, and ripped again.

The ambrosia had numbed the pain, but it had also showed Josie every life her soul has lived. Josie feels beyond old when she thinks about every life her soul has lived through, yet here with Hope in her arms she feels remarkably new. And she knows that once morning rises, she’ll be in a world of pain—a bonding experience she can talk to Prometheus about if they ever get the chance to meet. But for now, she’ll assuage Hope’s fears. 

“I’ll be fine, it’s a bearable pain.” 

“Josie,” Hope starts.

“It will be all right for now, Hope.” Josie removes her hands now that Hope’s wound is healed. “You should rest though.” 

Hope shakes her head and sits up, facing Josie with curiosity. “Do you—do you remember?” 

Josie smiles. “I remember everything.” 

And Josie will go through the torturous cycle of her soul splitting and regenerating just to keep it this way. 

“Are you—do you know—” 

Josie silences Hope and pulls her into her arms and lays them both down on the bed of roses. “It’s late. We should rest.” 

Hope nods, her hands twisting the fabric of Josie’s shirt. “Will you stay?” 

“Always and forever,” Josie whispers their promise to each other. “I’m never leaving you.” _I will never leave you again._

There’s nowhere else Josie would rather be. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was so fun to write for me personally, haha. I hope you all enjoyed it and are ready to move into the final act! Part III will hopefully be out sometime next week. 
> 
> Stay safe, wear a mask, and vote if you can!

**Author's Note:**

> Needless to say, I have more in store. Let me know if you want more? Thanks for reading!


End file.
